July 2022 Edition of The Christian Recorder

JULY 2022

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VOLUME 171, NO. 10

JULY 2022

The Investiture of the 12th President of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University “Advancing Our Legacy, Reimagining Our Future” B. Johnson, 9th Episcopal District

Eleven months after the retirement of Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr. as the eleventh president of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, the investiture ceremony for Dr. Daniel K. Dr. Daniel K. Wims Wims, the twelfth president, was held on April 29, 2022. Under the leadership of Dr. Jerome Williams, chair and co-chairs Dr. Jeanette Jones and Mrs. Felicia Wilson, the Investiture Planning Committee organized an outstanding investiture program that left “no stone unturned.” It had all the fanfare of a royal coronation, with all the pomp and circumstance deserving of such an occasion.

President Daniel K. Wims giving the inaugural address.

Excitement filled the air of the Thomas ...continued on p26

The Hamilton-Garrett Music & Arts Academy Celebrates 20 Years of Bringing Black Music to the Roxbury Community When noted vocalists Ruth Hamilton and Elta Garrett formed their namesake music and arts academy in Roxbury twenty years ago, they had faith that their dream to prepare inner-city youth to produce culture through music and the arts would bear fruit.

On June 10, 2022, the Hamilton-Garrett Music & Arts Academy (HGMA) will celebrate two decades of growth with a free end-of-the-year concert at the historic Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church at 551 Warren Street in Roxbury, Massachusets. The concert starts at 6 p.m. and will feature the Hamilton-Garrett Youth Choir, one of Boston’s only all-female choral groups. Students and their instructors, some of whom are from the Berklee College of Music, will participate in the program, which will include a broad range of black music: spirituals, classical, jazz, rhythm and blues, and hip hop.

The celebration coincides with Black Music Month and plans for the academy to expand.

Gerami Groover-Flores, a student at the academy who now serves as executive director, said, “It is an honor to have been part of the Hamilton-Garrett Music and Arts Academy since I was a little girl in its inaugural class.

I look forward to expanding the after-school program, the Academy, into the HGCMA (Hamilton-Garrett Center for Music and Arts), which will serve both youth and adults Rev. Dr. Alfonso Wyatt, Columnist within the greater Boston community. We also look forward to serving as an institution that will bridge the gap between members of the community and A myth that some believers may believe is that “real the academics through our partnerships with higher ed institutions, such as warriors” never allow worry in their space. Nothing could be further from the truth. There will come the Berklee College of Music Center for Africana Studies.” a time when the vicissitudes of life can overmatch The Hamilton-Garrett also is marking the centennial anniversary of its late even the most fierce prayer warrior. When dire co-founder Ruth Hamilton who died in 2001. Hamilton and Elta Garrett problems overwhelm your physical, mental, or founded the academy at Charles Street AME Church. A world-renowned spiritual capacity to withstand, one plausible contralto mentored by Roland Hayes, Hamilton amplified the power of alternative is to worry. Be clear; we have different spirituals in her repertoire. resistance levels to worry about, but in life, there is trouble, then there is TROUBLE that can push Co-founder Elta Garrett, a talented active and sits on the board of you over the proverbial edge. vocalist and former teacher in the Hamilton-Garrett. Garrett sang for Boston public schools, remains Martin Luther ...continued on p9 ...continued on p2

When Warriors Worry: Let the Weak Say They Are Strong

Has the Flag Run Its Course in Our Sanctuary?… p3

Who Comforts the Comforter? … p10

Dedication of Anvil Arms and Anvil House… p20

19th District Mid-Year Conference - Bishop Brailsford at Work…

p34

Impacto de Vida AME Church: Building History… p41

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The Christian Recorder

...From When Warriors p1

There is a constant tension marked by varying intensities of “worriation” (not a word, but a point) caused by what is known and unknown.

I remember in my 30s when I dreaded the New Year because it presented uncertainty. I thought I would be better prepared to deal—not true. Do you know the dimensions of worry?

1. Overthink The Plausible/Implausible — If you constantly review your options while in problem-solving mode (overthinker’s delight), your inability to come up with viable solutions or endlessly questioning probable solutions creates a tautology (think of a hamster running on a mill). Overthinking spurs more whatifs and leads to a deeper round of worry. It is like pouring gasoline on your already out-of-control thought firestorm.

2. Over Control The Controllable — It is understandable to want to be in control, especially when one is not in control of a situation. But unfortunately, overcontrolling the controllable is not the answer. It may give a pseudo-sense of well-being as if one is still in charge, but it is akin to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic; sure, you can do it—but why?

3. Wait And See If There Is A Rescuer On The Way — Waiting on a rescuer may seem like a viable strategy when you don’t know what to do. What if no rescuer is on the horizon, and you still opt to wait? “Worriation” can force you to play politically harmful mind games—like waiting on something or someone that, deep in your heart, you know is not coming. This experience is the essence of playing The Waiting Game—a game you can never win no matter how hard you try.

will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:25a, 34 Beloved, when you are going through it and yesterday’s faith does not seem deep enough to carry you through, trade in the worrier’s prayer for the Warrior’s prayer. Hear from Apostle Paul, a true Warrior for the Lord: “A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power[c] is made perfect in weakness.’”

2 Corinthians 12:7b-9a

There’s an inverse relationship between worry and faith. The more we worry, the more our faith decreases until no faith is left. Jesus’s position on worry is captured in The Sermon On The Mount. It is fitting that Jesus addresses the subject of worry because:

Our worries show us who we really are without the Lord’s covering. God promised never to leave or forsake us. His grace is indeed sufficient no matter what we face, feel, or think.

The Lord says:

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about

“Come to me, all you who are weary and

your life, what you will eat or what you

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are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28, 30 Our troubles can break our will, thereby draining our faith, or serve to strengthen our faith leading us into a surrendered relationship with the one who can keep us from falling.

We have to learn (and relearn) that God is indeed a present help in times of trouble—that is how the weak can truly say they are strong. So Warrior, stop worrying; do not wait until the battle (worriation) is over, shout now in a voice of triumph—and remember always to keep the faith.

I wrote this missive five years before the Coronavirus. However, given the high level of worry and anxiety in the land, the Spirit had me release this dispatch a second time. In closing, I talked to a minister who had entered quarantine.

She said she was not taking any pills because she knew the Lord would heal her. I said to her that it was God who gave the scientist the mind to create the medicine, so rest assured God will not be mad at you for taking medication—or WASHING YOUR HANDS!

Rev. Dr. Alfonso Wyatt, Columnist, Founder, Strategic Destiny: Designing Futures Through Faith and Fact THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER: The Christian Recorder (ISSN 1050-6039, USPS 16880) is the ofϐicial organ of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a member of the Associated Church Press and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Founded in 1852, it is printed monthly by the AMEC Sunday School Union, 900 13th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212. Periodicals Postage Paid at Nashville, TN. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Christian Recorder, 900 13th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212. Subscription price is $36 per year. Single issues are $3.25.

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The Christian Recorder

Has the Flag Run Its Course in Our Sanctuary?

In my sanctuary, on the right side of my pulpit lectern, stands an American flag. The ‘stars and stripes’ has been common-place in American sanctuaries since the Civil War (1865) and varying races and social groups participate in this practice. International churches also ‘wave the flag’ in their sanctuary, making this practice universally recognized by many as a religious standard. Yet, if we look at this tradition carefully, this article will revisit the concept of ‘flag waving’ and will question if AME churches should participate in the act.

The United States Congress has made a public statement on how the American flag should be displayed. When presented, the “flag should occupy the position of honor and be placed at the clergyman’s or speaker’s right.”1 Statutes also demand that, “any other flag (nonU.S. flag) so displayed should be placed on the left of the congregation or audience as they face the chancel or platform.”2 By so doing, placing the American flag to the right of the altar, has both biblical and cultural ties to supremacy. A United Methodist Church (UMC) journalist in 2013 went so far as arguing that “placement on the left and that higher placement signifies higher honor than other-flags, like the biblical or denominational flags on the left.”3 In 2017, author Joe Carter argued in The Gospel Coalition that “Civil Religion Has No Place in God’s House.”

This statement included removing the American flag from the sanctuary. According to Carter, there “is a vast and unbridgeable chasm between America’s civil religion and Christianity. The God of America’s civil religion is not the God who died on the cross.”4 Carter’s argument is even more complicated when Americans have desired a reboot of the American flag as far back as Martin R. Delany in 1852, as considering the racial tension forever embedded many have argued for true ‘equal’ representation. within the embodiment of the American flag. Sasha The Rev. Henry Young Arnett, while serving as a Weitman argues that “flags are one of the ways professor at Wilberforce in 1904, circulated one of nations establish their individuality as separate from 5 black America’s first flag designs. This prototype other groups of people.” So when considering the had “Frederick Douglass, Major Martin R. Delaney, ills of slavery, segregation, and systematic oppression Bishop Richard Allen, the Late Bishop Daniel A. under the American flag, many have identified the Payne, and Booker T. Washington on the flag.”7 flag as a symbol of racial degradation.6 African

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20th and 21st Century African Americans carried and still carry on the traditions of the Rev. H. Y. Arnett.

Replacement flags for the traditional American flag include: The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League Flag (UNIA), Republic of New Afrika Flag, Congress of African Peoples Flag, All-African People’s Revolutionary Party Flag, Black Liberation Army Flag, the David Banner ‘Official Black Fist Flag,’ Black Lives Matter Flag, and the most recognized Black Diaspora Flag. There are examples of the aforementioned flag flying in AME sanctuaries, including Mother Bethel in Philadelphia, PA, and Metropolitan in Washington, D.C. I have also observed sanctuaries that chose to implement no flag at all. Whatever your congregation chooses to do, the decision shouldn’t be dictated by a fear of disrespecting the AME ‘way’ or even Uncle Sam. There is no mandate in the AME Church concerning flag selection, and the United States of America does not have the right to force its flag upon any congregation. If anything, this article should at least start the conversation if it is best for your congregation to move a flag out of your sanctuary, or enhancing the sanctuary’s flag to something that celebrates the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ. ❏ ❏ ❏

1 United States Statutes at Large, Seventy-seventh Congress, Second Session, 1942, Volume 56 — Part I, Public Laws states in Section 3 (k).

2 IBID. 3 “Should We Have Flags in the Church? The Christian Flag and the…”. 2022. Discipleship Ministries. https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/should-we-have-flags-in-the-church-the-christian-flag-and-the-american-flag.

4 Carter, Joe. 2022. “Civil Religion Has No Place In God’s House.” The Gospel Coalition. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/civil-religion-has-no-place-in-gods-house/.

5 S. R. Weitman, “National Flags: A Sociological Overview,” Semiotica, VIII/4 (1973), pp. 338–49.

6 IBID. 7 “Flag for the Negro,” New York Times, 1 July 1904.

Celebrating the 137th Church Anniversary of St. John AME Church Dr. Bridget Floyd

St. John African Methodist (AME) Church, Huntsville, marked its 137th anniversary on March 20, 2022, at the 10 a.m. worship service. The theme was “A Legacy of Faith and a Bright Future,” with a scriptural emphasis on Matthew 16:18. The service was hybrid in terms of recorded and in-person participants, with the latter adhering to Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. The Mass Choir and musicians were inspirational under the direction of Brother Reggie Pearson, with Brother Phil Lee leading the choir and congregation in singing the opening hymn. Pastor Maurice Wright II preached the sermon for the anniversary service.

A nostalgic review began the service with a video presentation of photos of people and events over the years. After which, the Women’s Month tribute to women of St. John continued, highlighting two “phenomenal women.” Ms. Joy Wright highlighted Sister Claire Philadelphia and Attorney Genevia Fontenot. Congratulations to these outstanding ladies. Sister Maeola Peoples gave the welcome and announcements.

Pastor Wright introduced Deaconess Sarah “Granny” Bell, “the oldest and longest serving St. John member,” as the worship leader. The Deaconess Board recited the Call to Worship: Deaconesses Earnes-

tine Barnes-Ivery, Eva Smith, Willie M. Heyward, Charlsie Brooks, Gwendolyn Baldwin, and Mary Powers. The Reverend Meriam Garrett gave the invocation after the opening hymn.

Scripture readings were as follows: Old Testament, Psalm 100 by Addison and Breanne Bradford; The Epistle, Ephesians 1:15-23, Sister Jana Goggans; The Gospel, Matthew 16:13-18, Sister Mattie Ezell.

Pastor Wright preached the third sermon in his series “What Shall We Do with the Church?” entitled “Don’t Sleep on the Church.” The scripture reference was Acts 20:7-12. He noted the negative impact of “sleeping”/inattention at this point, including social, economic, and political factors. He emphasized that “there are people sleeping on the church,” resulting in a negative impact on the youth and leadership; ministries are not as fulfilling; the message is “watered down.” He urged soberness and vigilance to avoid the negative impact.

The first point made by Pastor Wright was, “The Word is for you.” There is something for every believer present when a sermon is delivered. He noted that “the Word of God always meets its target.” He encouraged participation in the church, noting that “church is not a spectator sport.” His second point was, “You can be in the right place but be in the wrong place at the same time.” In the text, the man was in the right place—the church, but in the wrong place—sitting in the window on the third level, which would allow for inattention or distractions. He cautioned that this could cause believers of today to miss their blessing because they could not focus fully on the Word.

Additionally, Pastor Wright emphasized that “there is always light in the church” and that we must always “pay attention to the light,” which allows us “to see as well as be seen.” He noted that in the text, ...continued on p13

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The Connectional Lay Organization PUBLISHING HOUSE GREETINGS To God Be the Glory—To Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield, Council of Bishops President, Lay commissioner, Bishop Stafford Wicker, Senior Bishop Adam J. Richardson, bishops of the church, general officers, connectional officers, laity, my sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus.

I have been given the esteemed honor of participating and providing greetings on behalf of the Connectional Lay Organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and our dynamic leader of the Lay Organization, president, Mr. Matikane A. Makiti. I bring you greetings in the powerful and matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.

President Makiti could not be with us today because he had to make the very easy choice to be the father of the bride today. So please join me in sending him and his family congratulations and best wishes on their very joyous occasion.

I am so excited and honored and find it a blessing to stand before you on this auspicious occasion!

Look what the Lord has done! We praise God for the tireless work and dedication of the Rev. Dr. Roderick Belin and the staff of the AME Sunday

School Union, who have led us to this marvelous day. The Connectional Lay Organization celebrates this day with our partner in the AME teaching and training ministry. We are excited to support and honor the AME Sunday School Union with a $10.000.00 gift of the beautiful pulpit that we will all adore at this magnificent AME Publishing House edifice. What an awesome facility we will enjoy for years to come.

The Connectional Lay Organization is charged with teaching and training to empower lay persons for global leadership. With our aligned and integrated missions, the CLO rejoices with the Sunday School Union today for the awesome Christian education and Christian service you will continue to provide to the AME Church and the Nashville community through this state-of-theart 21st-century Publishing House.

On behalf of President Makiti, the Connectional Lay Organization president, the Lay commissioner, Bishop Stafford Wicker, the Executive Board, officers, and members of the Lay Organization stand with you, arms locked, with our feet firmly planted on the Word of God. Congratulations, and may God continue to raise up new leaders and rightly divide God’s Word through this dynamic ministry. God bless you and our AME Church Family. To God be the glory for the great things He has done.

Humbly submitted: CLO first vice president, Dr. Dorothy Henderson CLO president, Mr. Matikane A. Makiti Lay commissioner, Bishop Stafford Wicker ❏❏❏

Dedication To the bishops of the church, supervisors, general officers, connectional officers, and all who co-labor for the Gospel of Christ: Thank you, Dr. Belin, for this opportunity to add the celebratory voices to the sound of rejoicing from the Jarena Lee diaspora representing more than 4000 women serving God in a ministerial capacity through the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

We are proud to be the daughters and descendants of a resilient people. People who thrived amidst anti-literacy laws written to keep us ignorant and silent in response to the rise of abolitionism but nevertheless took our little and made much.

People who took a blacksmith shop and made a church.

People who took our churches and made schools.

People who took our schools and educated a people who now boldly and proudly stand with you and all of African Methodism to celebrate this great work propelling us upward and forward, giving us the power to control our own narratives and publish our own stories.

Stories of a beautiful and brilliant sun-kissed people who fought and won the right to worship

under our own vine and fig tree.

This building and the work that comes thereof will keep others from profiting [from] our pain and inspire us to chronicle the great work God does in us, through us, for us, and around us for ourselves and those who shall tread the paths we leave.

This building is the manifestation of what it means to challenge our imagination and think big, and for that, we give God praise.

Congratulations! ❏ ❏ ❏

The Occasion for the Dedication of the AME Publishing House Rev. Corwin Malcolm Davis | May 21, 2022

To the established protocol, and to all of you here assembled: good morning.

In the year 1977, at the Service of Dedication for the previous Sunday School Union building, Bishop H. Hartford Brookins asked this question in the occasion: “What’s going on here?” He asked, “Why have we come by plane, bus, Amtrak, and car to Nashville, Tennessee? Why this strange assembly of clergymen and laymen, of community leaders and businessmen? What’s really going on here?” I want to echo the inquiry of the late Bishop Brookins, now forty-five years later, and in short, respond that here, we are telling the story.

What’s really going on here? Here we are telling the old story that reaches back to 1884 and the initial leadership of the Reverend Charles Smith, who proposed to the African Methodist Episcopal Church the need for the establishment of a Sunday School Union.

What’s really going on here? Here we are telling the story of a God who has been faithful and a God who has provided. The same God, who was

with the Reverend Smith, is the same God that was with Bishop Henry Allen Belin, Jr. here, and the same God that was with the Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour here, and it is the same God who is here with the Reverend Dr. Roderick Belin. We are telling the story that this edifice did not come into fruition by the acts of humans alone, but it is a work of the Divine.

What’s really going on here? Here we are telling the ongoing story of those who labor in this vineyard: those who write and edit church school lessons, those who handle the designs and publications of our Zion, those who manage the administrative departments of our church, and those who offer their gifts and services to the Lord.

What’s really going on here? Here we are telling the story of liberation. Here we are committed to producing resources that empower Christian believers to spread Christ’s liberating Gospel, to pursue justice, and to enhance the social

development of all people.

What’s really going on here? Here we signal to what the future portends. In an ever-evolving world–a world disrupted by a global pandemic, a world infected with anti-Black racism, a world where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break in and steal–here we reaffirm our ongoing commitment to the Kingdom of God and to God’s righteousness, and our commitment to serve the present age.

What’s really going on here?

Here we raise our Ebenezer, hither by Thy help we’ve come.

And we hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.

Prone to wander, Lord, we feel it; prone to leave the God we love.

But here’s our heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above. ❏ ❏ ❏

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Dedication of AMEC Publishing House General Officer Council Statement Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield, president of the Council of Bishops, Bishop Paul Kawimbe, president of the General Board, Senior Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr., Council of Bishops, supervisors, general officers, connectional officers, and the Judicial Council: I am blessed by this signature honor to speak on behalf of the General Officer’s Council.

[We are] grateful that God determined that our brother, our colleague, our friend, the inimitable, erudite, extraordinary, the Rev. Dr. Roderick Dewayne Belin, supported by wise counsel, an unparalleled support team, strong family, patient determination, a praying spirit, fidelity to the Church of Allen, and love of God. As we celebrate the dedication of the Sunday School Union, we are reminded of Proverbs 24:34 (The Voice Translation) 3 Wisdom is required to build a house; understanding is necessary to make it secure. 4 Knowledge is needed to furnish all the rooms and fill them with beautiful treasures.

From the 27th bishop, Canadian-born Charles S. Smith [who in] 1882 [established the] Sunday School Union to promote curriculum [and in] 1889 dedication of the first building [and was then] elected bishop in 1900.

To Bishop William D. Chapelle, Ira T. Bryant (first and 3rd GO), E.A. Selby. Charles S. Spivey, the Rev. Bishop Henry Allen Belin, Jr. [who in 1977 oversaw the building of the second Sunday School Union edifice], to A. Lee Henderson, the Rev. Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., and now the Rev. Dr. Roderick Dewayne Belin.

We are following the legacies of general officers such as Belin, Barbour, Miles, Coleman Williams, Lewis, Flowers, Ingram, Reid, Dickerson, Hill, Fugh, Sydnor, McKinney, Spain, Howard, and Keller: Coleman, Champion, Wade, Harris, and Flowers, who were affiliated with, occupied, or filled the 1977 Sunday School Union building.

Today we pledge to ensure rooms will be filled and beautifully furnished.

Every time: Cooper informs, interprets, orders, or documents the infrastructure, polity, and Discipline; Fry Brown edits or archives history past and in the making, reinforces the head and heart of the church and scholarship; Belin publishes literature and broadens our understanding of ministry and faith through the arts; Thomas disseminates news, strengthens ecumenical connections, representing the voice of laity, Millenials, Generations Z and Alpha; Pierce educates, collaborates, supports scouting, edits liturgical resources, music, and Christian worship, DMC, Sons of Allen, certifying teachers and writers, RAYAC;

Henderson projects and balances budgets and ensures fiscal responsibility and accountability; Miller assures annuity strength; Green ministers Matthew 28:19-20 to the global church; Norris spreads the /Evangelio/–the good news to expand and grow the church.

In this building, constructed through prayer, faith, hope, community, vision, and required wisdom, each member of the General Officer Council understands and continues our assignment.

We recognize that knowledge is necessary to make its purpose known. We will undergird the steel, brick, mortar, glass, furnishing, technology, art, and history in every room with actualized goals, beautiful spirits, care-filled responses, dedicated lives, energetic attitudes, flexible programming, generous hearts, helpful ideas, inestimable ability, just procedures, kind words, loving relationships, mindful considerations, nuanced language, open hands, professional ethics, quiet grace, responsible positions, sacrificial work, thankful deportments, valuable contributions, working cooperatively, exceptional service, yielding to God, zealous productivity–all to the glory of God. Thank you. ❏ ❏ ❏

Our Publishing Union Lives on When vision and reality are divinely inspired, and humanity follows the design, the finished product is always what was divinely desired.

Right here and now, we celebrate that our boldness Selby and Spivey, too, for incredible insight.

This realized vision represents elemental purity and benevolence endures to build and document and intrinsic perfection for the magnificent Continued by Belin, Henderson, and Barbour the legacy of inspiration and greatness. demonstration of God’s conception. who also pursued greater publishing heights!

The publishing house continues denominational Another Belin emerged with a worldwide view, With thanksgiving for the living presence of God created a building that flesh and blood didn’t In this publishing house, collaboration, church appropriation undergirded do, to serve an unripe harvest from unplanted Today, our publishing house lives on. by a legacy of self-determination. vineyards in places disregarded.

Today, we celebrate that the publishing house lives Bishop Elizabeth Anne Henning Byfield, The AMEC Publishing House strengthens the May 20, 2022, at the dedication of the AMEC on. fields already sown by more writing, teaching, Publishing House Gratitude is given to Smith, Chappelle, and and publishing God’s truth about healing, justice, ❏❏❏ peace, and equality, visions yet revealed.

Bryant for unimaginable foresight.

New AME Publishing House Is Heralded as More Than a Building Angelena Spears

When hundreds of persons flocked to Nashville to celebrate the dedication of the new 38,000 square foot AME Publishing House building, the consensus was that this was about something more than a building – this was about the future of the AME Church! on the grounds of the new publishing house. The House, for his “commitment and staying faithful The weekend-long affairs began Friday, May 20 with a “Service of Thanksgiving” at the Greater to the task.” Dr. Belin was elected as president worship leader was Dr. Belin’s brother, the Rev. Dr. Henry Belin III, pastor of First African Methodist and publisher of the AME Publishing House Bethel AME Church, which sits directly across Episcopal Church – Bethel in Harlem, NY. Within (Sunday School Union) in 2016 and in less than the street from the new $10.8 million publishing the two-hour program, AME component leaders, six years, spearheaded the project from beginning house. The service was reverent and celebratory politicians, and civic leaders joined in expressing to completion. as a host of bishops and general officers shared in the importance of the milestone occasion. leading the worship experience.

What made the achievement doubly impressive, In his opening prayer, the Rev. Dr. Jeffery Cooper, Bishop David Rwhynica Daniels, Jr. of the 17th was that Belin’s father, the now retired Bishop the general secretary and chief information officer, Henry A. Belin, had been responsible for the Episcopal District and chairman of the Board of acknowledged, “Places like this don’t just happen,” construction of the previous AME Publishing Publications, delivered a stirring message in which and he thanked God for providing the vision and House building, exactly 47 years ago. he commended the Rev. Dr. Roderick A. Belin, the the wisdom. He added, “In a mighty way, you have The dedication service was held Saturday morning president and publisher of the AME Publishing ...continued on p6

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once again shown yourself God -- and for that we say thank you.”

The Rev. Dr. Ericka D. Crawford, the connectional president of Women in Ministry and pastor of Mt. Zion AMEC, Dover, DE, said, “This building gives us the power to tell our own narratives and publish our own stories. It will keep others from profiting off our pain.” She then added, “This building represents what happens when we challenge our imagination and think big – and for that we give God praise.”

Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, declared, “When the AME Church makes progress, all of God’s people make progress. I know that the AME Church is blessed,” he continued. “This publishing house is to the glory to God.” Dr. Chavis shared that in two days he would be in Buffalo, NY, to funeralize one of the NNPA members, Katherine Massey, age 72, who had been killed in the mass shooting at the Tops store.

According to Chavis, Massey had written for the NNPA for over 30 years and was delivering papers to the store when she and nine other persons (mostly African Americans) were murdered.

State Representative Harold M. Love, Jr., who is also the pastor of Lee Chapel AME Church, Nashville, noted that those who work in government realize now more than ever how important faith is to their work. He commended the AME Church for its commitment to help shape the morals and values of society through its published materials and said, “Keep on publishing. Keep on printing and we will indeed see a change come.”

Other bishops and general officers who took part in the weekend services included general officers the Rev. Dr. Garland F. Pierce, executive director of the Department of Christian Education; the Rev. Dr. Marcellus A. Norris, executive director of the Department of Church Growth and Development; Jacqueline Dupont Walker, director of the Commission on Social Action; the Rev. Dr. Teresa L. Fry Brown, president and executive director of the Department of Research and Scholarship; Marcus T. Henderson, Sr., the treasurer and chief financial officer; the Rev. Dr. John F. Green, executive director of the Department of Global Witness and Ministry; the Rev. Dr. Jeffery Cooper, general secretary and chief information officer; and the Rev. Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., former president/ publisher of the Publishing House; and bishops: Harry Lee Seawright (9th); E. Earl McCloud, Jr. (3rd); Jeffrey Nathaniel Leath (Ecumenical and Urban Affairs); James L. Davis (2nd); William Jacobus Messiah (Located); Frederick Allen White (20th); E. Anne Henning Byfield (13th); Marvin C. Zanders II (16th); Reginald T. Jackson (6th); and Ronnie E. Brailsford, Sr. (19th); and retired bishops: Gregory G.M. Ingram, Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Carolyn Tyler-Guidry, John Richard Bryant, and Henry Allen Belin, Jr. Although Bishop Adam J. Richardson (10th) was slated to bring the message on Saturday, he was unable to make it due to weather-related travel cancellations. At 3 a.m. on Saturday morning, he determined he would not be able to catch a flight ...From New AME p5

The Christian Recorder to Nashville, and Bishop Anne Henning-Byfield, the president of the Bishop’s Council, was asked to bring the message.

If you didn’t know otherwise, you would have thought she had planned her message for months. She began by cleverly drawing a line that showed the connections that had been made in the AME Church in Nashville over the years – that led to this moment.

She began with the reference of Charles S. Smith who was born in 1856 in Canada. After heading to Kentucky to begin his career, he was run out of the area by the Ku Klux Klan, and ended up coming to Nashville. He is credited with purchasing the first AME Publishing

House building in downtown Nashville in 1889 (at the then lofty price of $9,000). Smith used his own funds for the down-payment.

Bishop Byfield continued her litany of connecting persons who came to Nashville and developed friendships and became general officers and bishops in the church. And she marveled at what happens “when God hooks things up!”

Bishop Henning-Byfield declared that despite a pandemic, despite the Charleston Massacre (when an 18-year-old entered an AME Church during

Submitted by Angelena Spears, Philadelphia Conference Reporter

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Bible study and killed nine parishioners in 2015), despite the Buffalo killings just one week ago – this building was proof that “the AME Church is alive, and it will not die!”

When Bishop Belin came forward to give remarks, he received a standing ovation for his accomplishments. He told everyone that he is working on turning 100, and has just a few years to go.

“It was 47 years ago that God said it was alright to make an effort to put the building up,” said Bishop Belin. “And he gave us what we needed and he’s done it again.”

Bishop Bellin summoned everyone to put their trust in God. “God says, ‘If you call on me, I will answer your prayer.’ He may not do it as fast as you want him to – but he’ll do it,” promised Bishop Belin.

At the conclusion of the dedication service on Saturday, visitors were invited to lunch and to tour the new building, which was graced with beautiful artwork, which included paintings, a quilt made from African fabrics, and a mural on the outside of the building. Most of the artists were onsite for the dedication.

The building also contains offices for the general officers, meeting spaces, dining areas, and there are plans to include a restaurant and other areas that can be used by the community.

Dr. Roderick Belin thanked Tonya Beaird Brown, who had chaired the dedication committee, and her assistant, Yolanda Mason Henderson. He also thanked the Rev. Walter W. Reid, Jr., the pastor of Greater Bethel, Nashville, and their members, who had served as hosts for the opening night’s activities.

Sunday morning began with a church school that was presented live from the lobby of the new building and broadcast around the world. The class was led by the Rev. Dr. Toni Belin Ingram, the sister of Roderick and Henry Belin, who is a presiding elder in the Augusta (GA) Conference.

After the morning church school class, guests were invited to attend church at Greater Bethel, where Dr. Roderick Belin concluded the weekend with a sermon he titled: Believe. He based his sermon on John 1:12, and summoned persons not to block the power of God in our lives, or in our church. He said, “All of the resources of heaven are available to us if we believe and receive it.”

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Dedication of the AMEC Publishing House, Nashville, Tennessee Greetings from the Connectional Women’s Missionary Society, AMEC Deborah Taylor King, Connectional President — May 21, 2022 On behalf of the Connectional Women’s Missionary Society, including our beloved Young People’s and Children’s Division, [and] as president of the great organization, I proudly greet each of you today at this dedication celebration with excitement because this is truly an exciting day in the life of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. All members across this Connectional Church should be excited and extremely proud, as well. to celebrate how God has tremendously blessed The Psalmist in Psalm 133:1 writes, “Behold, us; this is a time to observe this state-of-the-art and how good and how pleasant it is for [sisters and] very impressive AME Publishing House. brothers, [clergy and lay] to dwell together in Brick by brick, piece by piece, mortar by mortar unity.” For this is a good and pleasant day; a great during these pandemic and perilous times, God’s and phenomenal day!

This is our time to dwell together in unity to grace, goodness, and mercy have made this godly vision a reality. witness the favor and faithfulness of God, a time

And the Women’s Missionary Society would like to take this time to thank God and to thank you, Dr. Roderick Belin, and the empowered planning team (you know who you are) for your dynamic leadership, determination, and tenacity!

What a great accomplishment! What a phenomenal legacy for the AME Church–a legacy that will last long after we are gone!

Again, thank you, Dr. Belin and your visionary team, for you understood this divine assignment.

To God be the glory! ❏ ❏ ❏

King during the Civil Rights Movement. At 80 years old, Garrett lives near the Academy. She said, “I feel so much joy when I see the students taking their music lessons. I am amazed at how far we have come from the basement of the Charles Street AME Church to a building that we now call our own.” Twenty years from now, Garrett envisions a Hamilton-Garrett College of Music.

...From The Hamilton-Garrett p1

About Hamilton-Garrett Music & Arts Hamilton-Garrett Music & Arts is a non-profit affiliated with the historic Charles Street AME Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Focused on preserving black music and its cultural heritage, the academy offers superb music instruction to innovative young artists in the greater Boston area. Classes include voice, guitar, percussion, violin, music theory, history, black musical tradition, culture, and more. The school also hosts a Visiting Artist Series. Partners include the Berklee College of Music. Check out some of the student performances at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iso-MJvSjXI. Register for the free end-of-the-year concert at https://www.eventbrite. com/e/hamilton-garrett-end-of-year-concert-tickets-307152821357?aff=ebd ssbdestsearch.

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Who Comforts the Comforter?

Rev. Thato Mere, Contributing Writer

Grief is the proverbial elephant that kneels before every man’s house. The world is in tears; some fall, some remain internalised, but we all suffer some form of pain. With so much darkness and the need for comfort, the comforter is often left without a comforter!

Pastors and leaders of the church of Christ are these comforters to the church members they lead and serve. As servants of God and messengers of the Word, theirs is to spiritually care for the people whose souls are tired, spirits far from God, and weak bodies. Over and above, there are administrative functions that pastors have to fulfill. Sounds like a full enough plate, does it not?

Pastors have to be there all the time; they have to be present. Many people

the same fate - where they are unable to provide for their families due to

have become reliant on pastors’ counsel and their interpretation of the Word

finances, unable pay for children`s school obligations, and unable to find

to heal them of whatever situation they may be going through. During crises,

solace.

it is the pastor who is called on to assist. The responsibilities’ list goes on and

Losing loved ones can bring one to their knees, literally and figuratively.

on and on. Indeed, a pastor is responding to a calling, and yes, a pastor is

Pastors tend to believe that they are insulting their vocation by displaying

doing the best to be there for his or her people.

signs of being human. The truth is that every living creature feels! During a

This introduction is necessary to demonstrate just how full a plate can be for

period of grief, one gets so consumed by this dark cloud that everything seems

a pastor who is also human. As a pastor looks with despair at the bleakness of

senseless. It feels like a bottomless pit that one is sinking into, painfully and

the journey of life, doubting personal contribution towards drying the tears

slowly. For pastors, this emotion is often held inside as they attend to others

of those who so much need him, the pastor is alone with God! Yes, he or she

who are going through the same pain. As pastors comfort others, their pain

is alone with God, and the tears he cries in his sanctuary, she has only herself

doubles as they see their helplessness – but pastors have to keep it together, so

and God to wipe them.

they do not lose faith in our creator. After all, God is the greatest comforter,

Congregations are going through financial meltdowns, health deterioration,

and through God, we are able to touch others.

and job losses, leading to unstable and negative mental states. Pastors are not

Pastors carry a lot. Sometimes when they kneel during a period of sorrow, they

immune to such encounters that lead them into depression. The sad reality

cannot even bring their requests to God; but instead, they pray for others.

is that most pastors, after motivating one soul to keep the faith, go into their

The question is, who comforts the comforter while the pastor continues to

little corners and break down because they, too, are human and are suffering

fulfill the duties of comforting the broken-hearted, the desolate, the grieving, and the suffering? It is common, and perhaps not wrong, to say that they understand the power and sovereignty of God, but what remains is that pastors are not exempt from mental health issues, pain, sorrow, and feelings of helplessness. All this does not mean they are weak; it shows that even those who stand before multitudes of people preaching words of encouragement and life are God’s children who won’t whimper before congregations, but behind closed doors, they often find themselves communicating with God through eyes that rain tears.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the social ills within society at large. The land needs healing. Pastors are silently battling depression. My exegetical take on Matthew 26 is that perhaps Jesus Christ may have experienced depression when he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful, even to the point of death.

Stay here and watch with me.” As he prayed, the disciples fell asleep. In likeness, but not sameness, pastors experience this – they pray, and because it is assumed that they have it all figured out congregations sleep.

Pray for and with your pastors! ❏ ❏ ❏

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AME Department of Church Growth and Development Partners with Churches in Nashville in Equipping the Local Church Grant From the Foundation for Evangelism The Nashville District of the Tennessee Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (Nashville District) is the recipient of a $10,000 Equipping the Local Church Grant from The Foundation for Evangelism.

Chosen from over 100 applications, the proposal for the Nashville District was one of 31 grant proposals chosen for the 2022 inaugural grant cycle, which awarded $230,000 in grant funding to small and medium-sized churches or multiple churches working together.

The Rev. Dr. Marcellus A. Norris, executive director of the AME Department of Church Growth and Development, procured the grant. The grant will impact six AME churches in Nashville, Tennessee, in the Nashville District: St. Phillip, St. Matthew, St. Luke, St. Peter, St. Paul, and New Salem. It will provide these churches with additional funds for evangelism initiatives and operational projects. The grant funds will allow these churches to expand their ministry focus and the AME Church to the forefront in each community they serve. The six pastors will be leading this effort with Dr. Norris. This area is a part of the 13th Episcopal District of the AME Church, led by Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield.

“The Foundation for Evangelism is looking forward to partnering with the Nashville District as they implement their project throughout the coming year. Seeing clergy and laity working together to invite their community into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ is exciting,” said the Rev. Dr. Heather Lear, vice president for Grant Administration.

“One of the AME Department of Church Growth and Development goals is to provide churches with resources to help grow and develop every area of ministry, where they can make a difference in each community. We applied for the grant in hopes of encouraging pastors and laity in building the Kingdom of God in this present age. It is our hope that this project is only the first in a series of local church development initiatives,” stated the Rev. Dr. Marcellus A. Norris About the Equipping the Local Church Grant The Foundation for Evangelism’s Equipping the Local Church Grant has categories for $5,000, $7,500, and $10,000 awarded to small and medium church congregations or clusters of churches working together in a Wesleyantradition denomination. Selected applicants must show how the grant can launch an experiment or initiative to share the Gospel, tell their faith stories, and invite others into a relationship with Jesus. For more information about The Foundation for Evangelism, visit foundationforevangelism.org.

About the Department of Church Growth and Development For over 60 years, the Department of Church Growth and Development has held to the principle of teaching and training AME clergy and laity in evangelism and discipleship that leads to spiritual growth in our members and a numeric increase in our congregations. The Department aims to assist AME clergy and laity in leading all people to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s savior through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

About the Nashville District of the Tennessee Annual Conference of the AME Church The Nashville District consists of 15 churches in the Nashville, Tennessee, area, led by Presiding Elder Rev. Anica Howard.

Organization Contact: Rev. Dr. Marcellus A. Norris, 615-997-3965, drnorris@ amechurchgrowth.org.

The Foundation for Evangelism Contact: Barby Bowser, Communications, (828) 454-6800; communications@foundationforevangelism.org. ❏ ❏ ❏

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CONNECTIONALNEWS

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Gifts Morris Brown $100,000 for Endowment Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® is continuing to make good on its commitment to our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This evening the sorority’s international president and chief executive officer (CEO), Dr. Glenda Glover, presented Morris Brown College with a $100,000 donation to establish an endowment for scholarships and other operational needs to help bolster the institution’s sustainability. A check presentation took place on the historic campus at the Dr. Gloria Anderson Multi-purpose Complex.

“Alpha Kappa Alpha is pleased to make this donation to Morris Brown College as we continue our support of the county’s HBCUs,” said AKA International president and CEO Dr. Glenda Glover.

“Our gift to this historic institution will be used to assist President Kevin James with scholarships, academic support, and programmatic activities that we believe will increase the sustainability of Morris Brown for years to come,” added Dr. Glover.

“I want to thank Alpha Kappa Alpha for their dedication to HBCUs and especially for the sorority’s commitment to strengthening our endowment, which could not have come at a better time with our full accreditation announcement,” said Morris Brown President Kevin James. “I want to thank President Glenda Glover for her leadership and to all the AKAs for their continued support as we continue our quest to restoring Morris Brown to her former glory.”

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s gift to Morris Brown is part of Dr. Glover’s four-year $10 million goal under the sorority’s HBCU for Life: A Call to Action initiative.

Glover implemented the program when she took over the leadership of the sorority in 2018. A major component of the initiative is the sorority’s fundraising efforts to secure fiscal sustainability and success for accredited HBCUs around the country.

For four consecutive years, members have surpassed their goal to raise $1 million in one day for HBCUs on a designated day in September.

“We started this journey in 2018 with a goal of raising $1 million in one day. Certainly, unchartered territory,” explained Dr. Glover, who is also president of her alma mater Tennessee State University. “We had the audacity to believe we could raise $1 million in one day. And we did it then, as well as in 2019 and 2020, by exceeding our million-dollar goal. And, in 2021, to raise more than $2.4 million in our final year was simply phenomenal.”

Dr. Glover also shared that AKA has helped thousands of students get into the college of their choice through the sorority’s #CAP initiative.

It stands for College Admissions Process and is the signature program she established to increase the number of students who want to attend any college, whether an HBCU or a predominately white institution. Her focus has been on exposing students to HBCUs because she believes the needs of these institutions are so great, including the need to fill seats and to obtain funding.

“Most people are unaware of the significant contributions these legacy institutions continue to make in our cities and throughout the country, including graduating 22% of all African Americans with bachelor’s degrees, nearly 80% of all African

American judges, 50% of all black lawyers, and at TSU alone, we have produced more than 50% of educators that work in the Metro Nashville Public Schools District. We are also the number one

HBCU for graduating teachers.”

For more information on the sorority’s commitment to HBCUs, visit www.AKA1908.com.

About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA) is an international service organization founded on the Howard University campus in Washington, DC, in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American, college-educated women. Alpha Kappa Alpha is comprised of over 325,000 members in more than 1,045 graduate and undergraduate chapters in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Liberia, Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Africa, South Africa, and in the Middle East. Led by international president and CEO Dr. Glenda Glover, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is often hailed as “America’s premier Greek-letter organization for African American women.” Visit www.aka1908.com for more information.

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AME/WIM Central Southern African: Your Credentials Matter and the Royal Presence Rev. Lerato Pitso

African Methodist Episcopal/Women in Ministry (AME/WIM) of the Central Southern African (CSA) districts (districts 14-15, 17-20) virtually convened their monthly empowerment session on May 21, 2022. The session for May was themed “Your Credentials Matter” under the triennial theme of “Iron Sharpening Iron.” The Rev. Beatrice Mamphethe Motokoa, presiding elder of the North District in the Lesotho Conference, 18th Episcopal District, also serves in the Connectional AME/WIM as the CSA coordinator, was the convener of the session.

The session was attended by members of the CSA Districts, including a few WIM members from the Bermuda Conference and the Jamaica Conference, including supporters of AME/WIM from across the CSA District. In addition, the session was blessed with the presence of the Her Majesty the Queen (HMQ) of the kingdom of Lesotho, HMQ ‘Masenate Mohato Bereng Seeiso, the wife of King Letsie III of Lesotho.

The first presenter was the Rev. Lerato Pitso, the Connectional statistician and pastor of AME Church, Ivory Park in the D.S. Modisapodi, East Conference, 19th Episcopal District. She urged AME/WIM members and attendees to work on their education, thus sharpening their credentials and widening their theological worldview. In addition, education helps to establish credibility

in the church of Allen and their work in the Kingdom. The Rev. Pitso used Paul as an example, as his education prepared him to contribute to the writing of more than half of the New Testament.

The second presenter was the Rev. Audrey Ngamlana, presiding elder of the Beaufort West District and pastor of Calvary AME Church in the Cape Conference, 18th Episcopal District. Her first theological diploma was from R.R. Wright Seminary in the Vaal, South Africa, and her recent Master of Divinity in 2020 is from Payne Seminary. The Rev. Ngamlana shared how her education opened doors through an internship with the church of Canada, Sault Saint Marie, and the opportunity to pastor a few churches in the 19th Episcopal District before moving to the 15th Episcopal District. The Rev. Ngamlana

acknowledges that credentials give one credibility within the Connectional AME Church.

Through the CSA coordinator, Connectional AME/WIM will be working on an initiative to equip WIM in the continent on topics like AME Polity and Governance, and Church Administration, to meet the training needs of AME/WIM in the continent. AME/WIM is the official professional organization for women pursuing excellence in ministry in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. It is the prophetic voice for parity and justice through advocacy and activism for women in ministry. For more information on AME/WIM or the work of the CSA, please visit www.amewim.org.

Rev. Lerato Pitso, AME/WIM Connectional statistician, 19th Episcopal District

no one cautioned the man about being “on the ledge” and that “the church cannot be too busy to warn people.” He indicated in the text that the people “became the church” once they attended to the man who fell from the window. He indicated that Paul directly “ministered”/attended to the man when he fell, not delegating to someone else. Another key factor was that everyone left comforted after the events in the text. Pastor Wright indicated that people should feel better after participating in worship, “leave with joy in your spirit [from being in the presence of] the power of the Almighty.” Finally, Pastor Wright ended by citing Luke 21:36 – the importance of “staying awake” to escape events that are going to take place and gave examples of current events/problem situations.

...From Celebrating p3

Truly a sermon upon which to reflect as the St. John family marked 137 years of existence as a church serving the Huntsville community. Sister Mary Allen made the offertory appeal, and the Doxology and Benediction followed.

Congregants remained to view a congratulatory video of greetings from regional and national clergy, church officers, members, and friends. They included Bishop Harry L. Seawright of the 9th Episcopal District; Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield, 13th Episcopal District; Bishop Adam Richardson, Sr., Senior Bishop, 10th Episcopal District; Presiding Elder Bruce W. Hunter, South Birmingham-Huntsville Bessemer District; the Reverend Dr. Willie Eugene Marshall, presiding elder, Ozark/Troy District; the Reverend Mark Kelly Tyler, pastor of Mother Bethel AME, Philadelphia, PA; the Reverend Dr. Patrick Clayborn, Bethel AME, Baltimore, MD [former pastor of St. John, Huntsville]; the Reverend Dr. Michael Bell, Allen AME, Washington, D.C.; Brother John Thomas III, editor, The Christian Recorder; Brother Marcus Hill, St. John Steward Board, vice chair; Brother Bill Williams, St. John Trustee Board, vice chair; Brother David Person, a friend of the church; the Honorable Anthony Daniels, Alabama House minority leader, and St. John member; and Deaconess Sarah Bell – 90 years of service to St. John and longest living member.

St. John is proud of its legacy and looking forward to a bright future. ❏ ❏ ❏ CONNECTIONALNEWS

“Learn, Lead, and Liberate: Conversation with Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqd63n5yxk

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Edward Waters University Earns SACSCOC Approval to Offer New Online Graduate Degree Program in Education Policy and Advocacy As printed June 6, 2022, in Academic Affairs, Announcements, Education, News, Online Learning

Last week Edward Waters University (EWU) received formal notification from its accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), authorizing the university to offer a new graduate master’s degree (M.A.) in Education Policy and Advocacy.

As such, the university plans to begin enrolling students in this exciting new graduate academic degree program beginning this August in fall 2022.

Given the dynamic shifts in global policies and pedagogical frameworks throughout both the K-12 and higher education sectors, both locally and nationally, EWU is confident that this new program will fill a particularly growing need for trained educational policymakers and influencers who will shape the present and future of American education.

“The transformation and ascendancy of Edward Waters University continues with the promulgation and subsequent approval

by SACSCOC of our second graduate degree program—the Masters of Education Policy and Advocacy—in just the last year,” said Dr. A. Zachary Faison, Jr., EWU president, and CEO. “We are excited and brimming with anticipation concerning this new cuttingedge graduate degree program of study that will produce strong educational policy-making advocates that serve and support the needs of our nation’s primary, secondary, and college/university students,” President Faison said.

In particular, the new graduate M.A. in Education Policy and Advocacy (MEPA) is a 100% online 36-credit-hour degree program that students can complete in as little as twelve months. Completing the all-new MEPA program will help fortify and empower intergenerational leaders for positions of responsibility as K-12 administrative policy influencers, higher education administrators and professionals, and leaders in educational non-profit and for-profit sectors.

The Master of Arts in Education Policy and Advocacy (MEPA) will utilize an interdisciplinary and culturally relevant approach to prepare educational advocates and non-educational leaders as change agents for leadership in sundry contexts. Traditional and contemporary theory, technology, and experiential learning are collectively employed to give students pursuing the Education Policy and Advocacy degree a holistic and innovative perspective.

“As a second-generation educator, I am pleased to advance the development of this new interdisciplinary degree at Edward Waters University as a deliberate step in our strategic focus on producing minority thought leaders, national advocates, and committed public servants who are intellectually prepared to employ culturally relevant strategies that address contemporary issues in communities around the world,” said Edward Waters University’s inaugural dean of Graduate Studies and associate professor of Education, Dr. Walter T. Tillman, Jr.

“Introducing this new program contributes to EWU’s goal of enhancing the university’s academic profile by comprehensively inaugurating a competitive 21st-century curriculum into our institution,” Dr. Donna H. Oliver, the provost of EWU and the senior vice president of Academic Affairs, added.

“Given EWU’s past longstanding presence in education as a program of study, as a career educator, I am excited to see our institution reclaim its space as a continuing producer of high-quality educational professionals,” Provost Oliver said.

Traditionally, fields of education have held a strong interest among EWU students. In past years, the university has produced remarkably effective and impactful educators throughout the state of Florida and beyond.

Accordingly, the university’s faculty and administration resolved to develop this new market-relevant stand-alone graduate degree program in education policy and advocacy to expand EWU’s academic profile further and meet student demand while simultaneously supporting future enrollment growth.

For more information and to complete your application for admission to the Edward Waters University Master of Education Policy and Advocacy (MEPA) degree program, please visit www.ew.edu/mepa or contact Mr. Kendrick Dunklin, Dean of Enrollment Management, by email at k.dunklin@ewc. edu or by phone at (904) 470-8202. EWU is currently accepting students for the upcoming fall 2022 academic term, and space is limited, so complete your application today. ❏ ❏ ❏

ECUMENICALNEWS

After Roe’s Fall, Black Churches Support Some or All Reproductive Health Options Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service

(RNS) — For Evangelist Lesley W. Monet, the week since the fall of Roe v.

Wade has been a time of praise and preparation.

For Dr. Miriam Burnett, it has been a time of protest and preparation.

Monet, international director of the Church of God in Christ’s Family Life Campaign, recently moved to Tennessee, where the predominantly black Pentecostal denomination plans to turn a former Catholic monastery into a facility that, among other things, will offer pre-natal and post-natal care in a state where maternal and infant mortality for black women is high.

The Kingdom World Missions Center, imagined well before the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, will continue the denomination’s yearslong commitment to urging women not to choose abortion by providing financial help for food and housing, along with baby showers and encouragement after the births of unexpected children.

Burnett, medical director of the African Methodist Episcopal Church International Health Commission, whose denominational leaders condemned the Dobbs decision, said AME leaders’ focus is to foster women’s “education around what their choices are and what their options are, but not to become a transportation hub or to actually advocate abortions.”

Most immediately she is concerned that with clinics closing, women will be deprived of ancillary services, such as physicals and breast and cervical cancer screenings. She hopes more churches in her denomination will serve as locations for community health services.

“We are working to try to institute community health centers in many of our churches that have expressed interest,” she said, along with approaching others who have the space for such centers.

“It helps us to help women from this court case,” Monet said. “It’s going to be fantastic.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a plurality (38%) of reported abortions in 29 states and the District of Columbia in 2019 were obtained by black women, despite a smaller population size. A third (33%) of the reported abortions were obtained by white women, amounting to 6.6 abortions per 1,000 white women, compared to 23.8 per 1,000 black women.

The center, which is being renovated over the next few months, has only become more urgent, she said. “I’m just praying that we get this off of the ground … because women need our help, as they have in the 49 years since this has been going on.”

Other sources’ data varies widely and there is much division on this hotbutton issue, but there is nevertheless broad agreement that black women disproportionately seek abortions in the United States, often due to economic and social reasons. ...continued on p15

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The 16th District Excelling in Extraordinary Times

By Joan Phillips-Bennett, 16th Episcopal District YPD Director

The members of the 16th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC), under the leadership of Bishop Marvin C. Zanders II and Supervisor Winifred H. Zanders, gathered at Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny, Jamaica, on May 26, 2022, and May 27, 2022, for their district’s Annual Planning Meeting. Chapel of Christ Our Redeemer AME Church hosted the district’s first face-to-face gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was two powerful days packed with teachings, business, and worship sessions that empowered all those who attended to return to their respective conferences and communities to strengthen their teams and ministries.

Joan Phillips-Bennett, District YPD’s 1st vice president, Brother Ahejey Mattis, and WMS Conference presidents from the 16th Episcopal District traveled to

Business as Usual The meeting garnered more than 200 persons in attendance, which included members of the Connection, such as the president of the AME Church Council of Bishops and the presiding prelate of the 13th Episcopal District, Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield; the executive director of the Department of Global Witness and Ministry of the AMEC, the Rev. Dr. John F. Green; pastor of St. James AME Church in Newark, New Jersey, the Rev. Dr. Ronald L. Slaughter, Sr.; pastor of St. Luke AME Church in Harlem, New York, the Rev. Stephen E. Green; and the president of Payne Theological Seminary, Dr. Michael Joseph Williams.

The business sessions and teachings focused on topics such as leadership, synergy, ministry, and the district’s specific components, discussing budgets and various obligations. The Academy of Training and Service (ACTS) teachings were encouraging and informative. The Rev. Dr. Slaughter gave strategic methods geared towards making ministry relevant during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of knowing what type of leader you are for the specific members in your ministry. The Rev. Stephen Green gave a dynamic lesson on the Road to Reparations: Reclaiming Our Identity and tackled some views on how persons of colour view themselves as opposed to misconceptions of the broader society.

Bishop Zanders introduced an education fund affirming the suggestion of the Jamaica Annual Conference members regarding persons who needed assistance to get the necessary qualifications to apply to tertiary institutions in the Caribbean. The members of the district and the Connection welcomed the idea. As a result, the district raised USD 12,000 at the Planning Meeting.

Bishop Zanders will appoint the district’s Education Fund Committee, and the committee will oversee student selection and scholarship allocations based on student needs.

Missionaries on the Move As customary, the Women’s Missionary Society of the AMEC dedicated a few hours to giving back to persons within the community. Sister Regina Mclean Prince, the Episcopal president of the Women’s Missionary Society (WMS), led the outreach. The Episcopal supervisor of Missions, Sister Winifred Zanders, WMS District worship leader, Sister Liz Debourg, District YPD director, Sister ...From After Roe p14

This has affected the immediate response of many faith leaders of color to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. No matter where they are on the spectrum of opinion about abortion, prominent pastors and institutional leaders have said holistic solutions for women of color are crucial.

Tony Evans, an influential Dallas pastor, called for compassion on the part of Christians, speaking of “humbly” celebrating Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion in the Dobbs case: “(M)ost importantly, women should never have to bear the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy on their own,” he said. “We, as the body of Christ, should come alongside those

Barrett Town’s SOS Children’s Village and Barrett Town Primary School to donate food items and school supplies and interact with the children.

Serving God with Determined Faith The ordination and commissioning service was a very unique and highly anticipated moment as the guest preacher, Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield (who was also the previous bishop of the 16th Episcopal District), was unable to conduct an ordination and commissioning service as a result of the no-movement stipulation which occurred during the Worldwide COVID-19 Pandemic.

Bishop Zanders made pastoral appointments in the district and two presiding elder appointments in the Jamaica Annual Conference: the Rev. Florance McElroy to the Blue Mountain District and the Rev. Shawin Reynolds to the Pedro Plains District.

Bishop Zanders gave the final word to the district, instructing that God calls people to work and build his Kingdom; therefore, God guides and guards us from the adversary. ❏ ❏ ❏

in need through spiritual and tangible support.”

The AND Campaign, a nonpartisan Christian think tank with predominantly black leadership, used similar language, referring to “Whole Life,” in a statement. The group declared its opposition to criminally prosecuting women who seek or have an abortion.

“God loves women who’ve had or considered abortions and so do we,” it said. “Christianity is more than just a list of prohibitions; our faith also affirmatively commands us to love others with compassion and self-sacrifice. Our conviction to help suffering women and children should match our convictions regarding the unborn.”

But despite their caring approaches to women with unexpected pregnancies, black clergy in states such as Tennessee will pursue their different strategies as new restrictions come into force.

Bishop Vincent Mathews, Jr., COGIC world missions president, predicts that if the number of abortions decrease and pregnancies increase, “our work will intensify,” through operations like the Kingdom World Missions Center.

The Rev. Earle J. Fisher, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Memphis who sits on Planned Parenthood’s Clergy Advisory Board, described his city as being on “the precipice’’ of three southern states — Arkansas, Tennessee, ...continued on p16

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and Mississippi, all of which have or likely soon will ban most abortions. He plans to continue supporting women’s access to reproductive health care, including abortion. ...From After Roe p15

Asked about being part of clergy efforts such as the earlier or possibly renewed Clergy Consultation Service that helped women access safe abortions in the years before Roe, he said he had not yet been part of such discussions.

“I know that it’s possible that they may be necessary in the very near future,” he said. “Especially when we think about how these rulings include even people who have been impregnated by means of rape and incest, I think it’s heinous, I think it’s unholy to use this type of governmental overreach into the lives of everyday people.”

With high infant mortality rates in Memphis and surrounding Shelby County, Fisher said the Black Church will need to determine new ways to help push for resources for prenatal care and

The Christian Recorder comprehensive school sex education.

“Memphis is ground zero,” he said, noting that the needs must be met in the midst of a variety of religious perspectives. “But I still believe in the Black Church’s ability and capacity to be innovative and inspirational to meet the needs of our people.”

Many black Christian leaders also say the Dobbs decision demands that their constituents vote to give their communities a voice on the issue.

“We remain in solidarity with the black, brown, and poor people who this decision will disproportionately impact,” said AME officials, including bishops and social justice leaders. “We ask each member to recommit to vote in every upcoming election to ensure that human beings are treated with equal dignity and respect and given equal access to resources.”

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the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, chairman of the Conference of National Black Churches, said that any push for congressional legislation to codify Roe would prompt the “awakening” strongly needed in the African American community ahead of the midterm elections.

After the release of the actual opinion, Richardson added that he plans to support churches in the states where the right of abortion has been removed.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling did not simply empower states to ban abortions — it gave them a license to put the lives of millions of black and poor women at severe risk,” he said. https://religionnews.com/2022/07/01/afterroes-fall-black-churches-support-some-or-allreproductive-health-options. ❏ ❏ ❏

In early May, when Alito’s draft opinion appeared,

Capital District of the M.M. Mokone Annual Conference Rev. Maria Shadibo Diale, the pastor of Mogwase AME Church, M.M. Mokone Annual Conference TCR Contributor

Presiding Elder Mandisi Albert Mexico opened the Capital District of the M.M. Mokone Annual Conference from May 13-15, 2022, at Darie Mae Robinson African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Saulsville. This district is the largest in the 19th Episcopal District, with 18 churches in the Northwest Province, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga. This conference was the first fully attended meeting after three years of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. From each of the 18 churches, members of the church left the comfort of their homes in numbers to experience worship services and educational sessions.

The opening worship service started on Friday, May 13, 2022, at 13:30, following a going-home service of one of the Lay Organization’s stalwarts and a Darie Mae Robinson Steward Board member, Brother Setsopi Harold Senosha. The Reverend Modikoe Amiel Mpye, the pastor of Ebenezer AME Church in Atteridgeville, opened the service with a sermon based on the Gospel of Luke 24:29 with the heading, “O seka wa mo dumella a fete” translated “Don’t Let Him Pass.”

In the evening, the Reverend Thabang Kobue, a newly ordained deacon from the host church, gave the educational message from Luke 10:35.

Mother M. L. Morewane, the District Health Commission director, gave a presentation pertaining to health and emphasized the importance of vaccination. She further encouraged members to take care of their health and have flu vaccines/ shots to strengthen their immune system, as these vaccines are free at government hospitals. The guest speaker, Ms. Molebogeng Mavimbela, came to teach about the importance of herbal medicine as a daily supplement. Among other activities, we were blessed by the presence of Presiding Elder P.J. Mengoai (retired), who used his rare and interesting skills to officiate the pastoral reports Presiding Elder Mexico, a father and mentor, introduced the Pastor’s Appreciation Service.

Members of each church came to appreciate their pastors. The service was an important moment for pastors as it was the first time for some to feel appreciated loudly by their members. We thank the presiding elder for this wonderful gesture, and may the good Lord continue to bless him.

The Reverend B.M. Mokgoko comforted the families of the departed members with the word from the book

of Paul to the people of Corinth, 1 Corinthians 15:25-26, “Death is the last enemy to be defeated.”

Members of the Women’s Missionary Society under the leadership of Mother X.F. Mexico came in numbers to be a part of the conference. They participated in the service that Mother Mpye led.

The Reverend M.M. Kgositlou led a service of the installation of the Office of the Capital District Sons of Allen, which is under the leadership of Brother P. Mushatu and his executive team: vicepresident Brother L.M. Buys; secretary Brother C. Mahlangu; corresponding secretary Brother K. Reid; treasurer Brother Ernest Leeuw; financial secretary Brother Kago Seleke; and chaplain Brother Michael Matabane.

The conference closed on Sunday with a message from one of the Women in Ministry members, the Reverend B.M. Ntsepe. She gave us a message from the three books about love, and her subject was “Ratanang/Love Thy Neighbor.” This service also included a high celebration with participants sharing the table of the Lord, with Presiding Elder Emeritus P.J. Mengoai as chief celebrant.

The District Conference is the third and the most important conference in the AME Church.

It finalizes the important decisions from the local church before endorsement at the annual conference. Hence the delegates to the district conference must be the local church stewards.

Their active participation in the local church leads to the building of the entire African Methodist Episcopal Church. ❏ ❏ ❏

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Rev. Betty Whitted Holley, Ph.D., Elected as Chair of the Commission on Accrediting for the Association of Theological Schools The Rev. Betty Whitted Holley, Ph.D., was elected chair of the Commission on Accrediting for the Association of Theological Schools. The Commission oversees the accreditation of schools across the United States and Canada. She is the academic dean, director of the Master of Divinity degree program, and fully-tenured professor of Ecological Theology at Payne Theological Seminary, Wilberforce, Ohio.

Dr. Holley received her Bachelor of Arts from Bennett College, a Master of Education, and an Education Specialist from the University of North Carolina. She also holds a Master of Divinity from Payne Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Philosophy from Union Institute and University in Cincinnati. Dr. Holley comes to this role well-prepared. She has chaired several accreditation visiting teams and been on dozens of visits. She was a member of the Redevelopment Task Force that developed the 2020 standards presently used to accredit and reaccredit our member schools. She has previously served as vice chair of the commission. ❏ ❏ ❏

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Good Times Sandra Bonner Hadley

The Holy Bible reminds us in Psalm 30:5 that, “For his anger is but for a moment; his favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” In times like these, it can be easy to get stuck in the weeping and neglect to embrace the joy to come. In efforts to cling to the joy and moments of celebration, it was a breath of fresh air to celebrate the 145th anniversary and renovations of Ward Memorial African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church on the good morning of May 8, 2022.

During the fifth month of the year, which symbolizes the grace of God at Ward Memorial AME Church, we embraced our season of “good morning“ and praised our good God for all the great things he has done. During the morning worship experience, through the prevalence of success stories, the guest preacher, the Reverend Lee P. Washington’s comparison to a TV sitcom from the ’70s, “Good Times,” to commentate the 145th anniversary and the completion of a one million dollar renovation was intentional and skillful.

As we embraced God’s grace, we celebrated God’s goodness by remembering the good times. Ward Memorial completed the building renovations at a time when many churches did not make it, but with the grace of God, Ward Memorial not only completed the project but did so while having a “good time.” Ward Memorial AME Church, under the leadership of a dynamic young pastor, the Reverend

Dededrick O. Rivers, completed a one million dollar renovation during the “good times!” As a result, in what may have been a season of weeping for others, we were able to be a living testimony that joy will always prevail.

The Rev. Lee P., as he is affectionately called by many, described our struggles by reciting the lyrics from the 1970s sitcom “Good Times”: Anytime you meet a payment—Good Times, anytime you need a friend— Good Times, any time you’re out from under—Good Times, not getting hassled, not getting hustled, keeping your head above water, making a wave when you can, temporary layoffs, scratching and surviving, hanging in a chow line, ain’t we lucky we got ‘em—Good Times, just looking out the window, watching the asphalt grow, thinking how it all looks hand-me-downs—Good Times, yeah Good Times! (Lyrics: Dave Grusin and Andrew Bergman) And with the many kumbaya moments, Ward Memorial survived!

We are aware that without God, we never would have made it. We are grateful that we have made it to experience good times so that we may be good stewards of our testimony to share with others that the same God who did it for us can bless you exceedingly, abundantly above all you could imagine. Society may say that it appears we are at risk of a recession, but at Ward Memorial AME Church, we are embracing the season of joy. We truly praise God from whom all blessings flow and invite others to hold tight to the “good times.” ❏ ❏ ❏

Dedication of Anvil Arms and Anvil House Dana Davis

With cheers and clapping hands in the background, Bishop Clement W. Fugh, presiding prelate of the 5th Episcopal District, Supervisor Alexia Butler Fugh, Presiding Elder Harold Mayberry of the Oakland-San Joaquin District, Presiding Elder Vernon Burroughs of the San Francisco-Sacramento District, the Rev. Robert Shaw II, senior pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church-San Francisco, and the Rev. Boaston Woodson, Jr., pastor of Resurrection AME Church-Richmond, California, cut the ribbon to dedicate Anvil House in Richmond, California.

“This is beautiful. God is great!” exclaims Lady Mary Mayberry as she toured the house, which has been five years in the making. Anvil House, in partnership with Bethel AME Church-San Francisco and Resurrection AME Church-Richmond, is a transitional home serving men reentering society from the penal system. Brother Bobby Sisk, Business Development manager, Bethel AME Church, San Francisco, manages this collaborative ministry.

Echoing the sentiments of Lady Mayberry, the Rev. Ann Champion Shaw, executive pastor of Bethel San Francisco, proclaimed it to be a “Beautiful day, family. We’re on a mission [here at] Anvil House. To God be the glory, great things God has done!”

The day began at Bethel San Francisco under sunny, blue skies. Bishop and Supervisor Fugh, along with AME dignitaries, Bethel members, and friends, traveled to Anvil Arms–a recently purchased 12-unit, market-rate apartment building located a little more than a mile from the church. “[Acquiring the apartment building] was our way of stepping out on faith,” says Pastor Shaw while addressing guests in front of the building. “We’re still for affordable housing, but this just diversifies our portfolio. And with the proceeds, we fund other ministries for Bethel AME Church.”

Prior to the pandemic, church attendance was declining nationwide. According to an Institute for Family Studies analysis using the American Family Survey, in 2019, 45% of black Americans attended religious service regularly, and by 2021, the number dropped to 30%. Low attendance had a financial impact. “In the current climate, investing like this is a way for churches to keep their doors open,” says Nikki Steady-Taylor, Bethel San Francisco’s Church ...continued on p33

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What About Fracking?

Dr. Betty Holley, Contributing Writer

As members of the priesthood of all believers, we should be caretakers of what God has given us—Mother Earth. Being a caretaker means that everyone is responsible for keeping a watchful eye over themselves, personally, in how we interact with every living thing on earth. Earth is our only home! Therefore, we should view our responsibility to earth as a lifestyle choice. Our entire focus of living on earth should be centered around just taking only what is needed to survive so that others will have what they need. Someone once said, “Be good to the earth, and the earth will take care of you.” So, what about fracking?

coming from public lands. They would have predicted 19 million acres of untouched wilderness in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge for oil and gas drilling. They would have predicted that the impacts of fracking are often irreversible.

Malthusian believers would have predicted in six western states in the U.S., 74,000 people are threatened by pollution emitted from wells, tanks, and pipelines due to activities of fracking. They would have predicted that there are 96,000 active oil and gas wells on public lands, which give off pollutions that contribute to climate change and which are linked to asthma attacks in children, especially. Here are nine reasons to ban fracking globally.

Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high quantity of water, sand, and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure—high enough to crack the rock—which allows the once-trapped oil and gas to flow to the surface out to the head of the drilling well. Fracking is detrimental to our survival here on earth. Yet, a Cornucopian believer would welcome fracking. Why? Fracking is advancing technologically, and the belief that the earth will rebound–take care of itself. It does not matter about the risk factors of fracking affecting people’s health, wildlife habitat’s eradication, land erosion, and, more importantly, climate change. Who cares if fracking will cause accidents, leaks, fires, and spills every year? Who cares if there is a disruption of communities across the country? Who cares if people are killed at various fracking work sites? Who cares if toxic and radioactive waste is being produced in massive quantities? Who cares if derailing explosive, milelong oil trains near cities along great rivers occur? These are the thoughts of a Cornucopian believer.

❖ Fracking accelerates climate change.

A Malthusian believer would view fracking as the culprit of climate change due to the activities of fracking to acquire more resources, and the increasing population would be viewed as a threat to our human health. A Malthusian believer would have predicted the disruption of wildlife migration routes and habitats from noise pollution due to fracking. They would have predicted people of color would withstand the worst of additional fossil fuel pollution

❖ Fracking pollutes drinking water. ❖ Fracking produces toxic — even radioactive — wastewater. ❖ Fracking makes people sick and causes a host of public health problems. ❖ Fracking is exempt from federal environmental laws allowing corporations such as Exxon Mobil or Chevron to conceal the contents of chemical cocktails. ❖ Fracking and the disposal of fracking wastewater cause earthquakes. ❖ Fracking is driving a huge petrochemical and plastics boom. ❖ Fracking is expanding pipeline infrastructure across the country. ❖ Fracking imposes heavy social costs and quality of life burdens.

The only way toward a clean, renewable energy future is to ban fracking and stop all new fossil fuel development. We need to ban fracking everywhere, but the first step is saving our public lands from the free-for-all fracking permits the former president ushered through. ❏ ❏ ❏

The Truth Is the Light Reverend Dr. Charles R. Watkins, Jr., Columnist

Based on biblical text Acts 5:29: But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

Laws established by elected politicians and appointed judges were patterned after the morality established and demonstrated by God in the Bible.

The truth is that, until now, not many would even think to challenge such laws.

It is so very obvious that we live in a different era now. In this time of technological genius, we appear to be so intent on maximizing our freedoms that we now have the audacity to challenge even God. God led us to draft a constitution affirming that he is no respecter of persons. So likewise, we seem to have become no respecter of God. We find biblical morality is challenged on every front as the divide between church and state grows wider and wider. No prayer in school, no Ten Commandments posted in the courthouse. We are in an age of confrontation with the political “right” and “left.” So the question is, what is a Christian to do?

The answer is very clear for those of us who are “the called according to God’s purpose.” We, who profess to be “children of the Most High God,”

are mandated to preserve the Word of God at any cost. It would certainly appear that the battle lines have been drawn. How far will we go to defend our cause for Christ?

In our text, we find that Peter and John have taken a stand for the Lord. They have preached the unadulterated Word of God in city after city, despite warnings of imprisonment and even death. Now they find themselves standing before the Jewish high court. All the high priest needed to say was, “We gave you strict orders.” Peter and John boasted boldly, “We must obey God rather than men.”

As Christians, we need to realize that we can sometimes do the right thing and end up guilty before the law and innocent before God. We must understand that it is never a light thing to break our nation’s laws. However, there are times when, as the Apostles did in Jerusalem, “we must obey God rather than man.” It is the way that we show that God is truly in charge. It is also the only way that we will preserve the Word of God for our future generations. Jesus warned that the Word of God would not, could not, and must not be altered.

The question for us now becomes, “How much effort are we willing to put forth to preserve the

influence of the Word of God in our daily lives?” Peter and John’s ministry did not fail the Lord; will ours? Will we have the courage to face off against the political enemies of God? Christ is seated at the throne of God, waiting for the church to take a stand. Now is not the time for lukewarm Christianity! Clearly, it is high time for us to reach our boiling point and take a stand for the Lord. The truth of the matter is that it is time to get back to doing things God’s way.

Recently we heard of the senseless shooter in a Buffalo supermarket, killing ten shoppers. We find ourselves grief-stricken as yet another lunatic has, for whatever reason, entered an elementary school killing 19 children and two teachers. Once again, the church of Jesus Christ should have been overwhelmed with sadness. Again, too soon, we find folk forced to their knees by overwhelming circumstances, yet we still find that too many did not know how to pray or to whom. Has the church of Jesus Christ lost its influence and impact on America?

Well, I, for one, believe it is

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Dream, Dreamers, Dream Rev. Renita Green, Columnist

The art teacher extended the invitation for dreamers to enter a safe space without limits or boundaries for the imagination. Dreamers were encouraged to explore every thought and idea through multiple mediums. That room was the space for imagination to become reality.

Those powerful words are found in Genesis 37:19 and are part of a story filled with excitement, resentment, fear, disappointment, and joy.

Sometimes the words of Luke 2:19 accompany this text, “And Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” Many sermons have inspired and empowered us through the story of Joseph, his brothers, and the Pharaoh. Through these messages, we have learned to be wise and humble when we share our dreams and with whom they are shared—that the enemy lies in wait to destroy the dreamer before the dreams have the chance to live.

I was about ten or eleven when I remember hearing a Sunday school lesson from Habakkuk 2:2-3, “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. There is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come and not delay.” I used to keep a dream journal that contained all of my wild imaginations.

A series of life interruptions caused me to stop writing in this journal, but I held onto it for many years. Finally, during a traumatic time in my life, I pulled it out when I was alone; reading it with tears brought me hope. I remember the day I tossed it into the trash—the dreams that once brought hope then seemed to taunt me.

At some point, I stopped dreaming—I stopped

The Christian Recorder imagining what life could be or who I could become. I have learned that this is typical for those who are just surviving their day-to-day life.

As surviving became easier, dreaming returned.

My dreams were always for others—how to improve life, ease burdens, and shine a light on and in darkness. While this is noble and worthy of merit, these dreams sprung out of trauma and were a trauma response. The dream became a place to hide—a facade of healing.

Sometimes it is hard to know if we are healing or hiding from our trauma.

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Even when we are hiding, this promise is true—all things—all of our dreams for others that are imagined in our hiding places—work together for good. It is the working together that sometimes tricks us—we believe ourselves to be in the perfect will of God because all the things are working together.

The hiding place is an essential, safe place for us to heal. However, we do not always do the work of healing once we find rest in hiding. Hiding causes us to feel lost, directionless, and discombobulated.

Sometimes we heal and stay in hiding because this is where we feel most safe and comfortable. The problem is that we outgrow the hiding place, and the longer we stay, the harder it is to leave—we get stuck. And then, some are ready to emerge from the hiding place but unsure what to do. We learned to survive. Now it is time to thrive intentionally.

Several months ago, I found myself in the place of needing to learn how to thrive intentionally. So I researched and found myself a life coach.

One of the first sets of questions I could not answer was about where my life would be in three, five, or ten years from now. My homework was to dream

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without time, age, space, location, resources, and knowledge limits.

Sitting with my homework, I imagined myself in that art room where it was safe to dream and imagine.

Through this process, including conversations with my coach, I was able to unlock a dream I had long held in my heart. My coach, like the art teacher, invited me into a magical place where my dreams were safe— where I was safe to dream.

I was then given the homework of answering the question, “What is needed to make this dream live?” I realized I knew the steps to take and the questions to answer—I already knew the process; I just needed a little coaching to help me realize and articulate my knowledge.

This exercise pulled me out of hiding: Behold, the dreamer cometh. The dreamer has been awakened, and suddenly the impossible does not exist, and the invisible can be seen. The dreamer has been awakened, and suddenly, the dreamer can imagine a thriving life without fear or limits.

I treasure the words spoken over my dreams and pondering them in my heart. I write them with confidence and reread them to stay encouraged. I am researching how to make my dreams a reality—I do not know the answers, but I know the process.

The dreamer is awake and equipped, and I feel alive!

Dream, dreamers, dream. It is great on this side of life! ❏ ❏ ❏

“My Body Is Not a Prayer Request” Imagines of a Disability-Centered Church Kathryn Post, Religion News Service

“God told me to pray for you!” is about the last thing Amy Kenny wants to hear when she cruises into church riding Diana, the mobility scooter she has named after Wonder Woman.

It is not that she has anything against prayer; however, Kenny, a Shakespearean scholar and lecturer at the University of California, Riverside who is disabled, would simply like other Christians to quit treating her body as defective. “To suggest that I am anything less than sanctified and redeemed is to suppress the image of God in my disabled body and to limit how God is already at work through my life,” Kenny writes in her new book, My Body Is Not a Prayer Request.

The book, which debuts this month, invites readers to consider how ableism is baked into their everyday assumptions and imagines a world — and a church — where the needs of disabled people are not ignored or tolerated, but are given their rightful place at the center of conversations.

Kenny combines humor and personal anecdotes with biblical reflections to show how disabilities, far

from being a failure of nature or the divine, point to God’s vastness. She reframes often overlooked stories about disability in scripture, from Jacob’s limp to Jesus’ post-crucifixion scars. Abolishing ableism, she concludes, benefits disabled and nondisabled people alike.

Religion News Service (RNS) spoke to Kenny about making the church what she calls a “crip space,” her belief in a disabled God, and why she prefers Good Friday over Easter. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RNS: At what point did you begin seeing your disability as a blessing?

Kenny: I was told often by doctors that my spine and my leg and my body were crooked. I began seeing how crooked and jagged creation is, the way elm trees have snaking branches and maple leaves are ragged and kangaroos don’t walk but hop. I didn’t have any trouble thinking about those elements as beautiful and divine. Yet when applied to humans, disability was thought of as dangerous and sinful. That just didn’t make sense to me.

So based on the idea that creation is delightfully crooked, I started to think about how my body,

too, is made in the image of the divine and its crookedness isn’t anything to be ashamed of.

RNS: Can you explain the difference between curing and healing?

Kenny: I think of curing as a physical process, usually a pretty rapid one — in Western society, going to the doctor and wanting a fix for whatever illness you are experiencing. Healing is much richer than that. It’s deeper. Healing is messy and complex. It takes time. It’s about restoring someone to communal wellness.

RNS: What is “crip space” and what does it look like in the context of a church?

Kenny: Crip space is a disability community term that is reclaiming what has been used as a derogatory slur against us, cripple, as a way of gaining disability pride. It’s saying that we are not ashamed to be disabled, that our body-minds are not embarrassments. Crip space puts those who are most marginalized, so folks who are queer, black, disabled--at the center and follows their lead.

Generally, churches want a checklist or a list of don’ts. It’s much more ...continued on p24

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Monrovia College Celebrates Centennial; New Building to Open in 2023 S. Odell Swen, Monrovia College

Monrovia College and Industrial Training School, Inc. was established in 1922 by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Bishop Samson Brooks, the presiding prelate at the time, was instrumental in its birth. Its purpose was and still is to offer post-secondary education solely intended to prepare students for immediate employment.

In 1995, to address the need for postsecondary education, the AME Church Groundbreaking. in Liberia opted for the establishment of its university. As a result, the church felt that AME University could use the Monrovia College building because there was room for expansion, thereby relocating Monrovia College to a relatively small former apartment building owned by the church on Clay Street.

The idea of a new home for Monrovia College dates back to 2011, when Bishop David Daniels was the presiding prelate of the 14th Episcopal District.

However, when Bishop Earl McCloud, Jr. was assigned in 2016, the decision New building. for the relocation of Monrovia College kicked up a storm, and Bishop Paul J.M. Kawimbe, the new presiding bishop of the 14th Episcopal District, embraced the project and has taken a keen interest in ensuring that this dream becomes a reality. Monrovia College’s new facility will be a fourfloored building, and the total cost of this project is USD 1,020,249.

The project will proceed in phases with an estimated completion date of December 2023.

Miss Monrovia College Beauty Pageant.

Past presidents honored.

In the face of huge economic challenges in Liberia, Monrovia College is now Monrovia College parade. on a venture with a grander vision Current building. that will create a learning environment that promotes post-secondary-educational Those honored were Dr. Louse C. York, Mrs. Pearl Banks Williams, Mr. Jackson Paye Gbamie, development with a focus on enabling a favorable and Presiding Elder James O. Jallah. Gracing this environment for holistic student development and auspicious occasion was the Right Reverend Dr. specialized vocational programs for navigating life Paul J. M. Kawimbe, the presiding prelate of the and making meaningful contributions to society.

14th Episcopal District, and Episcopal supervisor Monrovia College celebrates 100 years since Dr. Lister M. Kawimbe. its establishment in 1922. The Committee is During the event climaxing the centennial celecreating a comprehensive plan for the college’s anniversary. Using the theme, “Standing on Our bration of Monrovia College and Industrial TrainLegacy; Embracing the Future,” the Committee ing School, Bishop Kawimbe expressed thanks put together a series of events to commemorate and appreciation to the guests present. He assured those present of his office’s commitment to ensurthe same. Events covering this once-in-a-lifetime ing that the dream of constructing a new home for occasion include a beauty pageant, alumni Monrovia College becomes a reality. Moreover, he homecoming and sports tournament, street affirmed the church’s commitment to the educaparade, groundbreaking ceremony, and benefit thanked the alumni and all well-wishers of Monrogala and awards night. Climaxing these festivities tional process for the betterment of the people of Liberia. He further asserted that his office would via College. He finally stated that we should look was the centennial salute to past presidents of endeavor to ensure that the new building for forward to the fulfillment and fruition of a dream.

Monrovia College held at the Monrovia City Hall.

Monrovia College would be constructed. He then ❏ ❏ ❏

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nuanced and human than that. It’s noticing that there’s no ramp to the building you’re in, or no sensory spaces for people to take a break. It’s noticing that the language of the songs or the sermon is ableist and changing those words. It’s recognizing when the community is missing disabled folks. I’ve often had that as an excuse: “We don’t have any other disabled people but you.” Well, I wonder if that’s related to your lack of accessibility.

...From “My Body… p22

RNS: Could you share why you use the term bodyminds?

Kenny: It’s a disability community term that is attempting to undo some of that mind/body dualism. And it’s asking for us to think about how our bodies and our minds work in concert with one another. It’s also a way of being inclusive, making sure that when we talk about disability, we’re not just talking about mobility issues. We’re not just talking about visible disabilities. We’re also talking about hidden disabilities.

RNS: Some churches claim they just can’t afford to make their buildings accessible. What’s your response to that?

Kenny: This one cuts deep because often the people making that excuse do so in spaces that have prioritized spending money on other things. There will be doughnuts, coffee carts, different types of sound equipment and lights. I’m not against those things, but they suggest you’re prioritizing the aesthetic over including image bearers in your service. It also is suggesting that church services don’t evolve.

RNS: How does scripture talk about disabilities?

Kenny: In one of my favorite passages, Jacob wrestles with God or an angel, and comes away with a healing limp and a blessing. The limp is often read as a reprimand for questioning God, but

The Christian Recorder Jacob talks about it as God being gracious. It’s one of the transformative moments that allows Jacob to witness his brother Esau as an image bearer and to begin creating a sense of interdependency, rather than hustling to prove his self-worth through lies and schemes and the accumulation of goods.

There are so many myths of ableism wrapped up in that. We still see today people hustling to prove they are worthy of love and care. Instead, that passage demonstrates that through disability, Jacob is able to create a sense of co-flourishing with his brother and with the community.

RNS: The New Testament shows Jesus curing people with disabilities. How should Christians read these passages traditionally interpreted to mean disability is something to be fixed?

Kenny: The ninth chapter of the Gospel of John is helpful here. It’s the story of when disciples are asking Jesus if the man who is born blind has sinned or if his parents sinned. And Jesus says neither — this is so God’s works can be revealed. People usually make this passage about the miraculous moment, but that’s not exactly what Jesus says.

The story itself is about this larger healing that’s being offered that should restore people into a sense of communal wellness. I wonder how our faith communities would look if we were able to understand disability as a way of revealing the living God. RNS: You warn that, taken too far, celebrating disability can become a kind of prosperity gospel.

How so?

Kenny: This connects to inspiration porn — the idea, which comes from (disabled comedians and actors) Stella Young and Maysoon Zayid, that disabled people are nondisabled people’s inspiration. It’s porn because it’s consumptive, and it turns disabled people into an object. When we turn disabled people into inspirations, we’re

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reducing that person into a feel-good commercial and often assuming we don’t have to meet their access needs.

Both the prosperity gospel and inspiration porn fail to make space for the complexity of what it means to be embodied. The prosperity gospel promises that we all get a perfect life that is successful.

Inspiration porn doesn’t allow for disabled people having tough days, or being frustrated at the ableism that we’re facing.

RNS: You say you prefer Good Friday over Easter.

Why is the day meaningful to you?

Kenny: I relate to Jesus of Good Friday. Jesus on the cross is disabled in both a physical and a social sense.

A lot of times we focus too much on Resurrection Sunday or Easter, wanting to spiritually bypass the painful and hard parts of a faithful life and quickly move into the triumphalism of resurrection. I also really relate to the abandonment on Good Friday.

I’ve definitely felt abandoned by churches I’ve been a part of and my friends that I’ve had within those churches who, from my perspective, didn’t care enough about disability to be willing to grow and learn together.

RNS: How does viewing God as disabled impact our understanding of who God is and our understanding of the world?

Kenny: It reminds me that the ableism I have experienced doesn’t need to continue. It brings a sense of empowerment to think about God as described in (the biblical books of) Daniel and Ezekiel, as sitting on a throne with wheels. That sounds a lot like my wheelchair — it’s a shimmery, fiery, turquoise wheelchair like the one that I get around in. On days when people attempt to pray me away or attempt to cure my disabled body, it reminds me that my disabled body is made in the image of the divine. ❏ ❏ ❏

Softball Declared BCSN NAIA Division HBCU National Champions Atlanta, Georgia-There are now two national championship teams that call 1658 Kings Road in Jacksonville, Florida home. On Wednesday evening, the Edward Waters softball program joined their baseball brethren as they were declared by the Black College Sports Network as the 2022 NAIA Division HBCU National Champions, earning them their first softball national championship in program history.

The Lady Tigers received 153 points in the BCSN NAIA Division computer poll, finishing ahead of Huston-Tillotson (20-23, 145 points), Xavier (20-30, 140 points), Talladega (12-29, 124 points), and Jarvis Christian College (19-26, 123 points).

The purple and orange finished their 2022 campaign with a 32-11 overall record and received a bid to the Continental Athletic Conference Tournament back in early May. Edward Waters also served notice to their future foes in the SIAC, as the Lady Tigers finished 13-3 against SIAC opponents in 2022. Against other fellow HBCU opponents, the Lady Tigers went a combined 21-3 during the season as well. ❏ ❏ ❏

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The Gift of Righteous Hearts and the Evil of Mass Shootings

By Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 unspeakable violent deaths of thousands of souls In 1998, an African American composer and in DRC, going back decades. singer, Teri Callier, wrote the song “Keep Your Heart Right,” which included these words: The perpetrators of these evil and violent crimes are innumerable in the United States and globally.

In a weary world that needs redemption In many cases, there is an obsession with power, Maybe we can learn to love again … money, and greed. Racism and ethnic biases also Keep your heart right play a role. Such motivations and actions expose misplaced values and hearts that lack love for self, On May 14, 2022, another ten souls of African humanity, and creation. descent experienced violent death at the hands of another white racist gunman in Buffalo, New Despite these evils, the unyielding hope, love, and resilience demonstrated in the lives of those who York. Three were seriously wounded. This time the incident happened while the victims were have died from these tragedies, the survivors, and other witnesses left behind is remarkable. The buying food in a supermarket in an area New York film shows this in dramatic displays of women Governor Kathy Hochul called a “food desert.” and men calling for justice in the streets of DRC, Not long after this tragic event, I was present the U.S. Congress, and the United Nations. This at another occasion memorializing the violent campaign includes leadership from Dr. Mukwege deaths of African lives in the Democratic and the filmmaker.

Republic of Congo (DRC). I was at the United In the case of the Buffalo massacre, just like in States debut of the award-winning film Empire of Silence with the filmmaker Thierry Michel, the the massacre of the nine in Charleston, South Carolina, the testimonies of the lives of the victims District of Columbia area Congolese community, and the Congolese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. give witness to the faith, love, and generosity they shared in their families, churches, and community.

Denis Mukwege. The film graphically showed the

Indeed, their testimonies speak to the power of their righteous hearts and the bearing of their good fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 states that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control ….”

We are summoned to have righteous hearts that bear good fruit. We bear good fruit when we advocate to end food deserts, starvation, famine, climate change, and conflict. We bear good fruit when we speak to the historical inequities that make fragile communities more vulnerable to conflict and death. So, as we observe the International Day of the African Child on June 16, remembrance of the Charleston massacre that occurred on June 17, 2015, and Juneteenth on June 19, let us find ways to strengthen our hearts for acts of righteousness that bear good fruit and counter evil.

Angelique Walker-Smith is a senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church engagement at Bread for the World.

Increase Financial Oversight with an Internal Audit Committee Cynthia Gordon-Floyd, C.P.A., C.F.E., Contributing Writer

Many churches would like an external audit but cannot afford to do so.

My recommendation is instead to form an internal audit committee at the church. An internal audit committee can consist of as few as two persons, so members can implement the audit at churches of any size.

(3) The committee should meet no more frequently than semi-annually to review a random sampling of transactions for those six months. The committee will document:

While this function is not a part of our Book of Doctrine and Discipline, it can be a valuable tool for our ministries. A properly formed internal audit committee can provide the oversight needed to address adherence to policy and procedures while providing independent oversight of the financial functions. This committee not only ensures consistent application of governance and procedures but can, in many instances, become a necessary deterrent to fraudulent activity.

a. Consistent payment of compensation to all salaried persons according to their employment agreements.-

General guidelines: (1) The committee can consist of as few as two persons, but the ideal composition is at least three. They should not be involved with the financial management of the church; therefore, they should not be stewards, financial secretaries, treasurers, or members of the Commission on Stewardship and Finance. They should be active members of good repute who have been with the ministry for at least five years.

(2) The committee must be an independent function without a political agenda or allegiances. They should report to the pastor and the Official Board jointly. The pastor and the Official Board should select the committee from members of the Official Board.

b. Vouchers, invoices, and all checks to independent contractors to ensure they were properly authorized and payments made were consistent with the documentation and service received. c. Vouchers and invoices paid for other products and services used by the ministry to ensure proper authorization and timely payments and consistent with the documentation.

(4) With proper preparation, the committee could accomplish this process in one day. The committee should document and present any discrepancies to the pastor and Official Board. Assuming that the discrepancies are not major, the internal audit team would review documentation during their next six-month review to ensure they have been addressed. If the discrepancy is major, the committee should follow the same reporting procedure, but the pastor and the Official Board must take immediate corrective action.

Cynthia Gordon-Floyd is a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner. She is the founder of Willing Steward Ministries, LLC. Willing Steward Ministries (www.willingsteward.com) is a financial consulting and accounting firm for churches and other faith-based nonprofits, specializing in Bible-focused financial practices, pastoral compensation issues, IRS compliance, and other financial needs specific to churches. Cynthia is a graduate of Lake Forest College and holds her MBA in Accounting from DePaul University. She is a steward and the financial secretary at the First AME Church of Manassas in Manassas, Virginia.

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Give the People Christ Rev. Jazmine Brooks, News Editor

In March of 2022, World Methodist Evangelism resumed its annual “Order of the FLAME (Faithful Leaders As Mission Evangelists)” gathering in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. Many leaders come from the United Methodist Church, and the students come personally recommended from denominations within the Wesleyan tradition. The 4-day Wesleyan conference curates a culture of evangelistic discipleship. Each person gathered under the umbrella of this one aim, according to Kim Reisman, executive director of World Methodist Evangelism, “to be instilled with the DNA of the Holy Spirit, empowered to do ministry, and connect evangelism into their church and community.”

Each morning at 7:15 a.m., the day began in communion service, and one service, in particular, seemed to summarize the focus of the shared space most succinctly. “Give the people Christ,” proclaimed the Rev. Leon C. Moore, general secretary of Evangelism and Missions in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church. His message was complete with instructions regarding our passions for being led by Spirit, being accountable to spiritual and missional growth, and boldly proclaiming the good news of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of Mark, the 9th chapter. His message made clear that students of the conference leave the space prepared to make disciples of those they encounter along their Christian journey. But what does that look like in a world that is increasingly nonreligious and in need of an Exodus?

Considering its colonial history and present practices, it is no surprise that many people are skeptical of evangelism and the motives of missionary evangelists. If we believe that Jesus already died to give all people access to life and life more abundantly, particularly as an alternative to empirical rule and the religious elite, then there must be no need for those who desire access to that life to come under the subjugation of current Christian doctrines and disciplines. This demand, however subtle, is often the prerequisite for membership into the faith and mirrors the colonial nature of white evangelicalism. One attendee, in her mid-20s, shared her personal experience with evangelism in her native country.

She said that the people were given Bibles and invited to services/studies but were not allowed to speak in their native language or engage in their rituals and practices. What she described was more akin to the violence of assimilation, cultural erasure, and a western desire to dominate than to the life of Jesus as recorded in the gospels.

This reality is uncommon within our evangelistic aims and requires us to interrogate our faith in a call to convert. And that is precisely what happened during the 2022 gathering of the Order of the FLAME. Attendees were encouraged to

dialogue and build community with one another during meals and free time. So, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I daily sat with different groups of people and inquired about their experiences.

“What did you gain from the collective sharing?”

“How does evangelism fit into your understanding of interfaith relationships?” “What does it mean to Christianize the world?”

For some, conversion to Christianity is the result of relationship-building using the processes shared in plenary sessions. For others, conversion is the sole work of the Holy Spirit after the disciplined work of those same processes. And still, for others, our work is not contingent upon conversion but the will to live the life of Jesus in pursuit of a more just world. I also reflected on the Communion Message, “Whatever It Takes” (Mark 2:4-5) from Dr. Marcellus Norris, executive director of Church Growth and Development of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Are we willing to move past the “safe” forms of evangelism and questions we ask to necessary inquiries that place us in uncomfortable places?

If we believe in the necessity of evangelism at all, how do we evangelize in ethical ways, leave space for religious pluralism and indigenous spirituality, and allow space for individuals to maintain the

fulness of their being within the community?

We cannot deny the historical links between evangelism, colonialism, and white supremacy that have tainted the Gospel. Even benignly, the doctrine we become subject to is white supremacy unless we choose instead to “give the people Christ” ever conscious of eurocentric biases and lenses. The Rev. Moore’s words set the stage for what I would consider a key takeaway from the plenary sessions, personal reflections, and lessons on how to live out an evangelistic faith that followed his morning manna.

God does not call us to simply convert, but to live out our faith in service to humanity, just as Jesus did. To give the people Christ is to give a revolutionary love without reservation, prerequisites, or conditions. To give the people Christ is to push back against the death-dealing systems of oppression and suffering, be they political, economic, social, or religious. To give the people Christ is to offer life and life more abundantly in ways that are tangible in the present as opposed to far-off heaven in the next life. To give the people Christ, in all of his humanity, as is documented in the gospels, is our call to evangelism and our obligation to one another. ❏ ❏ ❏

M. Elmore Gymnasium on the beautiful campus of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University. The sun was shining outside, and the atmosphere inside was ecstatic with anticipation. As invited academic guests and religious leaders arrived, dressed in their academic regalia, and assembled for the procession, the audience waited patiently but expectantly.

...From The Investiture p1

The time finally arrived. The procession entered to Mendelssohn’s “War March of the Priests (from Athalie).”

The ROTC Color Guard posted the colors, and the body sang the National Anthem. The Right Reverend E. Anne Henning Byfield, presiding bishop of the 13th Episcopal District and president of the Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, gave the invocation. The Honorable A. Laura Hall, State Representative District 19 and honorary chairperson, welcomed the audience.

Additional program participants brought greetings, including local and state government officials, local and state university presidents, and religious leaders from the faith-based community. Following the greetings, the investiture ceremony, and those sharing in this auspicious occasion came forward to present President Wims with a picture of Dr. William Dr. Daniel K. Wims with the adornments and elements signifying his position in the leadership hierarchy. Hooper Councill, founder of Alabama A&M University and St. John AME Church.

Accordingly, Dr. Daniel K. Wims made the following presentations: ❖ The President’s Ceremonial Regalia is the attire designed featuring the school’s colors: maroon and white. The gown is solid maroon tropical wool with a maroon velvet front panel adorning the neck and sweeping down the length of the gown. The front panels of the gown are framed on the outer edge with a row of white metallic cording. Each front panel has the Alabama A & M Seal embroidered at chest level in white metallic. The double bell sleeves have an inner cuff and four velvet sleeve chevrons outlined in a white metallic cord edge braid. Four chevrons on the sleeve are unique only to presidents.

The shoulders on the gown are highlighted with white metallic cording. ❖ The University Seal was adopted in 1920. It features an anvil, plow, crown, and a book; it also has the motto, “Service is Sovereignty.” ...continued on p27

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Have You Eaten?: Christian Response to the Hunger and Poverty Quardricos Bernard Driskell, Columnist

“Have you eaten?”

This is the question Bread for the World’s president, the Rev. Eugene Cho’s parents would ask him constantly. As the Rev. Cho explained, it was their form of saying, “I love you,” because of the extreme hunger his parents experienced living in Korea.

Bread for the World is a hunger-justice liberal Christian-based advocacy organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty by uniting Christian voices urging our nation’s policymakers to end hunger in the U.S. and abroard.

Politically and legislatively, Bread helped to introduce the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act of 2021 (H.R. 4693/S.2956), which directs the U.S. government to create a comprehensive plan to end global malnutrition. And while this legislation is vital, the U.S. and the world continue to deal with COVID-19 even though the pandemic’s grip has eased by some measures – food insecurity and hunger, especially among black and brown individuals and families – both in the U.S. and abroad continue to be a concern.

The unfortunate reality is that the world is facing a real-live “hunger game” (an ode to the book and film series, in which a dystopia country set in a North American country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 13 districts in varying states of poverty, where every year, children from the first 12 districts are selected via lottery to participate in a compulsory televised battle royale death match called The Hunger Games) where the wealthy has an abundance. Still, the rest of the world is facing a worsening hunger crisis – exacerbated by rising food costs, famine, and climate change. Furthermore, poor nutrition is a leading contributing factor to the global disease burden and premature death.

Equity is an interdisciplinary approach that drives Bread for the World’s work of ending hunger and poverty. Bread’s Pan African and Latino/a Consultations illustrated this. The Pan African Consultation keenly noted that racial equity in the agricultural sector, especially and specifically for black farmers, is critical to achieving any measure of success.

As the Rev. Cho preached from John 6:1-15 in his first in-person address to advocacy attendees, what struck me in his sermon was Jesus’ concern about feeding the multitude and that Jesus did not feed the crowd directly; the Disciples did, as this was the work of the Disciples. This message is for us–this work is for us to do. It is easy to talk about what Jesus did, to place the focus on Jesus, to talk about what Jesus talked about, but it is more important to do what he did.

It is not lost on me that this is Pentecost in the book of Acts. This is the start of the church; when different people gathered, all on one accord, and the Spirit fell

upon them.

As we continue to face the growing issues of hunger and poverty–with more than 13 million children who face food insecurity daily in the United States, the question becomes, what will be the church’s response? How will the Spirit empower you to address hunger and poverty?

Jesus gave the food to the Disciples to feed the people.

Additionally, the Rev. Cho mentioned that part of justice work is telling the truth, so let us tell the truth. The issue of hunger and famine worldwide is because of the long reach of white supremacy vis-a-vis colonialism and imperialism into these countries.

When you follow the route of the transatlantic slave trade and where the slave ships arrived, you see the patterns of disparity in healthcare, thus it is no coincidence, nor should we be surprised that significant food deserts in this country are located along the transatlantic slave route in the southern region of the United States.

When you follow the route of the transatlantic slave trade and where food deserts are located, you also find states that passed draconian voter access laws and attempts to limit women’s rights over their own body. Thus, no surprise these areas are the bedrock of white evangelical Christianity. More rooted in the politics than in the Imago Dei. More concerned about using their politics to influence faith rather than influencing their politics. As such, if you follow the trail of tears, you find the same food desert in indigenous communities and rampant alcoholism.

One of the statements I read that touched me the most during the two-day Advocacy Summit for Bread was by a Christian activist and author who wrote: “One of the biggest mysteries of our faith is that, for some wild reason, God does not want to change the world without us. We need to be people of prayer, but we also need to be people who are ready to get up off our knees and become the answer to our prayers.”

We must have a faith-based theological response to ensure that we feed the multitudes, for when we do this, we can sing, like that old Negro spiritual: Let us break bread together on our knees. Let us break bread together on our knees.

When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

Quardricos Bernard Driskell is a federal lobbyist, pastor of the Historic Beulah Baptist Church, an adjunct professor of legislative politics at The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, and a member of Bread’s Pan African Young Adult Network (PAYAN). Follow him on Twitter @q_driskell4.

...From The Investiture p26

Service means the performance of labor for the benefit of another. Sovereignty means the quality or state of being chief, highest, foremost, or superior to others.

❖ The University Medallion is an impressive brass medal that lists the names of all presidents serving throughout Alabama A & M University’s rich 147year history. The president wears the medallion during commencement ceremonies and major The Reverend Maurice Wright II, pastor of Historic convocations.

St. John AME Church, Huntsville, Bishop Harry L.

❖ The Ceremonial Academic Mace. Dr. Andrew Seawright, Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield.

Hugine, Jr., the eleventh president of the university, commissioned the 2019 Mace to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the institution’s The InvesƟture procession L-R; 1st Row: Dr. Andrew Hugine, designation as a university. The mace encompasses significant events in the history of the university. Jr., past president of Alabama A&M Univ., and Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield, president of the Council of Bishops The names of the presidents of the university are inscribed on individual rings. of the AME Church. 2nd Row: Mr. Tommy BaƩle, mayor of

After the presentation of the presidential regalia, the twelfth president of Alabama Agricultural and Huntsville, Alabama, Bishop Harry L. Seawright, presiding Mechanical University was presented with rousing applause by the audience. President Wims then took prelate of the Ninth Episcopal District of the AME Church. the podium to make his first official inaugural address.

The legacy of the connection between Alabama A & M University and St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, Huntsville, had come full circle. Dr. William Hooper Councill, an ordained minister of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) denomination, founded Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1875. Ten years later, in 1885, he would organize St. John AME Church. One hundred and forty-seven years later, the twelfth president of historic Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University would be an ordained minister of the AME Church. To God be the glory!

The Right Reverend Harry L. Seawright, presiding bishop of the Ninth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, conducted the “sending forth” prayer at the close of the ceremony. ❏ ❏ ❏

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Still Good News Evangelist Dr. Val Eloby-Slade, Member of The Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Covenant Keepers and Intercessors Ad Hoc Executive Board (PART 1 OF 2)

The Department of Church Growth and Development never missed a beat as the transition of general officer and commission chairperson shifted from retiring general officer, the Reverend Dr. James C. Wade, to our newly elected general officer, the Reverend Dr. Marcellus Norris, and newly appointed Commission chairperson, Bishop Reginald T. Jackson.

April 2022 began with many meetings and lots of planning by the director, the Reverend Dorisalene Hughes, the Ad Hoc Executive Board, and the members at large for the Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Covenant Keepers and Intercessors. The committee planned and executed two events with great emphasis on welcoming the Holy Spirit to be present. The first was the April 4, 2022, Monthly Monday Midnight Prayer. The second was the spirit-filled African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church’s Connectional Day of Prayer hosted

by The Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Covenant Keepers and Intercessors on April 13, 2022.

The midnight one-hour prayer began with the sounding of the shofar, followed by participants singing “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” Then, after

salutations and welcoming the Ecumenical and Urban Affairs Office of the Endorsing Agent, Bishop Jeffrey N. Leath gave a resounding prayer covering all domestic and foreign spiritual leadership, the military, and governmental leaders.

In addition, Bishop Leath included a prayer for global issues, including the cyclone in our 20th Episcopal District, storms in our 16th Episcopal District, and covering for the remaining captive Girls in Chibok, Nigeria, and human trafficking globally. Next, our Connectional Richard Allen Young Adult Council president (RAYAC), Martinique Mix, provided an electrifying prayer covering all young adults, teenagers, children, foster homes, orphanages, and new ministries for all family members. Then the Michigan Conference Lay Organization chaplain, Vicki Whinsett Jackson, provided a prayer covering for all senior citizens, the homeless, incarcerated, suicide and homicide victims’ families, and the abused children and adults worldwide.

The AME Church Connectional Day of Prayer evoked the Holy Spirit manifesting power that only the Holy Spirit can, as the Reverend Dr. JoAnn Sumbry petitioned for covering of healings,

My Heart Aches Dr. Herman O. Kelly, Jr., Columnist

My heart aches every summer due to accidental drownings in our community. This summer, we have had several drownings already. Many who drowned were people of color—my heart aches. I want to strongly suggest we develop a swimming ministry in every congregation through the Board of Christian Education in the local church by identifying those to enroll in teaching and water safety training.

First, we must teach and preach the importance of learning to swim and water safety for our youth and young adults. We must break the cycle of having a water phobia in the African American community. Due to segregation and racism, we were not allowed to swim in many facilities. We swam in lakes,

protection from the enemy and leviathan spirits. She also asked for a special blessing upon the Annual Connectional Day of Prayer for the AME Church, petitioning for miracles, signs, and wonders. While the Spirit was still high, our Chicago Conference Lay president, Bryan T. S. Gray, provided a prayer-covering over all men as he spoke Acts 2:17, calling for our men to take their rightful place according to God’s Word.

President Gray prayed for the blood of Jesus to cover educators, parents, grandparents, and the family unit. The last prayer covering was rendered by a praise and worship instructor, Minister Edwina Franklin, who read John 14:12-13. Her prayer petition covered improved communications and greater evangelism, global Christian church growth, transforming, transcending, and liberating spirit-filled faith and discipleship—the Connectional Day of Prayer 2022 was Holy Spiritfilled and empowering for all. ❏ ❏ ❏ bayous, and unsafe places; therefore, many of our people drowned–my heart aches.

Secondly, we should identify a person to coordinate the swimming ministry and encourage them to be trained and certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI) to teach and provide leadership for the ministry.

Lastly, I would encourage all pastors to learn to swim. The pastor can enroll in private lessons at the local university or YMCA. We must provide leadership to the congregation.

My heart aches because I know we can do better, and God calls us to better. ❏❏❏

When God Tests Our Hearts: Giving Willingly with Honest Intent Rev. Jason Richard Curry, Ph.D., Columnist

May 26, 2022 When I was a pre-teenager, I vividly remember hearing the following phrase during the offering: We should give “not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). The speaker read the scripture prior to the giving of our tithes and offerings to the church. The reading cultivated the connection between our posture in giving (e.g., giving cheerfully) and how the Lord will receive it (e.g., God loves a cheerful giver).

If we as a Christian body posit the claim that God is indeed omnipotent (i.e., all-powerful), then it is also true that God does not need our giving. God desires and rewards but does not need. Therefore, our sincere and honest giving reflects our faith in and devotion to God more than it is a prerequisite for God to move, act, or intervene in our world. As a pre-teen, I did not have the faith to tithe (I had to fix that problem later as a minister), but I was happy to give an offering like other congregants. I gave cheerfully, hoping my gift would reflect my heart.

In 1 Chronicles 29:17, we read: “I know, my God, that you search the heart and take pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered

all these things, and now I have seen your people who are present here offering freely and joyously to you.”

King David donated rare and expensive materials toward the building of a temple. Even though David could not participate in its actual construction (see 1 Chronicles 28:3), he willfully and cheerfully gave as a reflection of a heart devoted to God. Since an omnipotent God did not need David’s gifts, the scriptures reveal that God was only testing the condition of his heart. David passed God’s test, and all those under his command and his son Solomon, who would succeed him as king, were greatly blessed.

It is a privilege and an honor to serve an omnipotent God. We should view giving our time, talents, and tender as a reflection of our hearts instead of a prerequisite for God’s intervention in our lives. In all circumstances, let us strive to give willingly, cheerfully, and honestly so that we and this world might know that our hearts are a reflection of God’s grace (i.e., love). We and others shall be blessed by giving “…for God loveth a cheerful giver.” ❏ ❏ ❏

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Four Incarnational Benefits of Bivocational Ministry Steven Van Ostran

It has been my experience that bivocational ministers see themselves and are looked upon by others as second-class ministers — ministers who are not on the same level as those who serve full time. Yet, it has also been my experience that some of the finest, most godly, and long-tenured pastors I have ever had the privilege to serve alongside were and are bivocational. So why the disconnect?

While the economic benefits of bivocational ministry have long been evident, by its very nature, bivocational ministry is advantageous to incarnational ministry and helping the church be Christ to its community.

I suspect a large part of the reason for this is that, in this “Show me the money!” environment and culture, we naturally presume that the brightest and the best will be called to full-time positions, be paid well, and not have or even want to do anything but live out the call to pastor God’s people. We presume that when God calls someone to serve in ministry, that call is to full-time ministry. But that simply is not the case.

While estimates vary, a survey by Faith Communities Today reported that just 62 percent of congregations had a full-time, paid senior or sole pastor in 2015. This percentage was down from the 2010 survey. One Southern Baptist Convention commentator speculated that between 40 and 60 percent, and maybe as much as 80 percent, of their churches, were served by bivocational pastors (“Is Bivocational Ministry the New Normal?” Rudy Gray, Baptist Courier. November 2, 2016). Yet, these dedicated, talented, hard-working, and tireless men and women of God are too often looked down upon by their full-time colleagues.

While the economic benefits of bivocational ministry have long been evident, bivocational ministry, by its very nature, is advantageous to incarnational ministry and helping the church be Christ to its community. There are four specific benefits of bivocational ministry that will be of great importance to the church in the coming years and can help the church reframe its understanding of bivocational ministry as a positive way of incarnating Christ.

1. Bivocational ministry breaks down the sacredsecular divide.

2. Bivocational ministry creates community and relationships.

We tend to regard clergy as special, privileged, sacred, or hyper-holy. But this special treatment, this separation, creates problems in communicating the message that Christ died for us all and that we are all sinners saved by grace. Pastors choosing to work bi-vocationally are sending the message that they depend upon God’s grace and hard work for their livelihood.

Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of bivocational ministry is building community and relationships outside the church’s walls. Outside of family, most fully compensated ministers limit their primary relationships to other church folks, whether in their own or other congregations. As a result, full-time pastors must be very intentional about building community and relationships outside their congregation. And when they do, they often face jealousy from members of their congregation, who may accuse them of dereliction in their service to the membership of the church.

Bivocational ministers naturally build these connections, and their being bivocational often strips away the congregation’s idea that they own the pastor’s time.

When pastors are willing to serve school lunches or drive a delivery truck, they are saying they are on par with the other members of the congregation, not above them. Further, when pastors serve bivocationally, they must count on lay leaders of the congregation to do more of the work of the church, thus further breaking down the sacredsecular divide. A bivocational pastor, for example, may depend on a lay leader to plan the worship service, make hospital visits where they will give communion, or work with vendors and volunteers to take care of the building. The bivocational pastor is forced “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12a, NRSV) more often than the full-time pastor.

3. Bivocational ministry can reveal unique ministry opportunities.

A third way bivocational ministry helps the church incarnate Christ is through discovering unique ministry opportunities in the community. Due in large part to breaking down the sacred-secular barrier and the pastor’s broader community and

relationships, bivocational pastors find unique connections for ministry. One pastor, whose ministry career has been largely bivocational, told me about when he worked in banking and a relative of one of his customers committed suicide.

The customer reached out to him to care for the family because “you’re the only pastor I know!” A bivocational pastor can open unexpected pathways for the church to encounter ministry opportunities to love others as Christ has loved us.

4. Bivocational ministry reduces pastoral dependencies and increases prophetic potential.

Bivocational pastors who earn their livelihood outside the church have freedom of the pulpit not enjoyed by fully compensated pastors. For example, when serving a rural church whose members’ cash crop was tobacco, I did not preach about the evils of tobacco. I am aware of many fulltime pastors holding egalitarian views on gender yet reluctant to challenge the complementarian practices of their congregation by elevating capable women into leadership positions for fear of creating too much turmoil in the congregation.

Their reluctance is based on more than simply maintaining order. Job security also plays a part in these actions and lack of action.

In contrast, bivocational pastors who earn their livelihood outside the church have freedom of the pulpit not enjoyed by full-time pastors. I am aware of another situation where a bivocational pastor confessed that financial independence allowed him to move the congregation out of some long-held theological and liturgical beliefs and practices. For example, he led the church to soften their views about the sacredness of the sanctuary and building, leading them to open it up to tenants. He also challenged them to move away from a staid, rigid form of worship to a more inviting and culturally relevant style of worship. He could accomplish this in a very short time because he was unafraid of the consequences of his actions and could be prophetic from the pulpit.

The church must take great strides to reframe its understanding of bivocational ministry as formative. But whether or not we make this shift in understanding the value of bivocational ministers, their service will be required for the sustainability of the church. Surely, we should be doing all we can to support and sustain this vital work instead of discouraging it by asking the pastor engaged in bivocational ministry, “When are you going to become a real minister?”

Originally printed at https://www.churchleadership.com/leading-ideas/four-incarnational-benefits-of-bivocational-ministry/.

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A Mentor – Not a Dictator Byron Washington, Columnist

Mentorship can be a delicate balancing act.

Mentorship can come to fruition through different modes. Some people ask you to mentor them, while through a series of events, you “become” a mentor to somebody.

In our current society, everyone says they want a life coach or a mentor. However, few people realize that the coach or mentor is only there to instruct, provide guidance and, in some instances, walk them through specific scenarios. The mentee, not the mentor, does the heavy lifting.

Give instruction[a] to the wise, and they will become wiser still; teach the righteous, and they will gain in learning. Proverbs 9:9 Some mentors are lifelong, while others are temporary. Whatever the duration of the mentormentee relationship, an individual must always be careful not to become a dictator. The mentor must allow the mentee to make their own choices (even if it is to their demise).

I recall one mentee a while ago that enlisted my

assistance, and as I was providing them guidance, it was as if they were not hearing a word I was saying.

I provided my mentee with more details, sat with them, connected them to people in my network, and had numerous telephone conversations, yet it still felt as if they were not hearing me. So, I asked more questions to ensure I was not missing something.

They said they understood everything, and the information was excellent. I later realized my mentee asked three people’s opinions. So they were assessing three options, my option and two others. My mentee chose one of the other options.

As they journeyed down the road following somebody else’s option, it was hard; why? Because I knew the directions they followed would not give them the desired results. They had chosen the easiest path, not the path that would get them to their goal.

The result for the person was not good. They then spent a lot of energy reestablishing themselves

because the path chosen was essentially a dead end. For mentorship to work, the mentee has to trust the mentor, and the mentor cannot abuse their position of power. The final decision should almost always rest with the mentee.

If you choose to mentor somebody, you cannot bully them or force them to follow your directions.

A mentor is almost like a coach, but the mentor cannot play the game. Nevertheless, the mentee, like the athlete, can make their own decisions.

As a mentor, our job is to provide insight and guidance to our mentees. If our mentees choose to ignore our guidance, it may hurt, but it is ok.

We are mentors – not dictators.

Check out the latest episode of The Leadership Ledge Podcast, where I talk more about the role of mentorship. ❏ ❏ ❏

“An Apology Way Past Due” Dr. Brandon A. A. J. Davis, Contributing Columnist

The emerging danger within American society is a narrative that forbids our progression as we deal with the same issues constantly before us. Amira Baraka best coined “the changing same,” which identifies how America’s struggle for human equality is not a discourse over new and emerging principles. These struggles are relative to the plight of being black. It confronts the narrative of justice that continually pushes the line of racial responsibility further away from who is responsible.

Systematic racism, racial violence, gun violence, racial disparities in black health, education, economic injustice, and financial reparations are too short of a list that accurately outlines the daily struggle of being black and brown in America. Each day brings a new level of understanding relevant to our struggle, which leads back to the system of white oppression and privilege. Yet, ironically when injustice and violence fall at their door, white Americans continue to find excuses to justify its happening or, too often, simply mislabel the problem as mental illness.

The reality of the changing same begs to differ whether or not our struggles are the changing same or the fighting same. It is the latter; we are fighting the same issues for change, yet our opponents are new, younger, creative, and look like us in some regards, like Herschel Walker.

To further perpetuate the narrative of black people always assuming issues of race, rich white Republicans put up unqualified and issue-specificuneducated candidates who, along with their white benefactors, label our issues of injustice as baseless fodder.

During the candidacy of then-Senator Barack Obama, the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Alvester Wright, Jr., was demonized for his biblical and theological stance against racism and violence in America. Sermons were taken out of context and used as sound bites to discredit his intellectual brilliance and maim his life’s work and commitment to African Americans. Then Senator Obama, senseless and baselessly, threw his pastor under the bus by articulating that Dr. Wright’s views of America were “profoundly

distorted.” Furthermore, he did not speak for the Black Church, nor did his views and sermons readily identify with others regarding what they thought the Black Church represented. One sound bite that gained national coverage was Dr. Wright saying, “America’s chickens have come home to roost.” With skillful sociological and psychological precision, Dr. Wright pointed out American militarism, which created worldwide havoc through capitalism, war, and bloodshed domestically and internationally. As a result, America is now receiving the recompense of being a world’s stage bully.

Mass shootings in supermarkets, schools, churches, doctor’s offices, and other public spaces have been a weekly succession of events from Buffalo, Uvalde, California, to Oklahoma. Gun violence, racism, sexism, and hatred are some of the most significant issues that plague the minds of caring individuals – yet still, when broken down and compartmentalized, they remain the root causes for social change in America. When you listen to Dr. Wright in full and not through

sound bites or from four pages in Michelle Obama’s 2018 book – which further trampled upon his legacy as a prophetic voice in the Black Church, when you contextually and objectively listen to him and place his view of America parallel to our current state of affairs, the only thing that comes to mind is that Dr. Wright is owed an apology. And that apology should come from former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama!

The roosting chickens of America’s complicity in violence, its lust for capitalism, its bloodthirstiness for guns, its legislative control over women’s bodies, and its unchecked hatred towards African Americans and people of color are an accurate assessment of who and what America is. Our present-day issues have not changed; our reasons for protesting police brutality, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the fight for human equality remain the same. The supporters of governmentsanctioned racism, violence, and injustice take their orders from the tweets of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, and others who paint themselves as victims as their rights are under siege by those who are anti-American.

Dr. Jeremiah Wright was right then, and he is without question right today. Voices like Dr. Wright speak to America’s national consciousness and its approaching social collapse as it is every day tearing itself apart. America’s chicken has roosted, and it is saying Dr. Wright is due an apology. ❏ ❏ ❏

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3rd Episcopal District YPD Hosts Intergenerational Leadership Retreat and Podcast Series Episcopal Supervisor Patricia Russell-McCloud, JD

Cultural anthropologist and author, Margaret Mead, once said, “Somehow, we have to get older people back close to growing children if we are to restore a sense of community, a knowledge of the past, and a sense of the future.”

The so-called “generation gap” is increasingly being relaxed or erased in the Third Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, under the leadership of Errenous E. McCloud, Jr., presiding bishop, and Patricia Russell-McCloud, Esq., supervisor. Indeed, to our collective advantage, the young and the “young at heart” have, through intergenerational programming and beyond, begun to reimagine their joint interest and joint concerns and the fact that working together works.

The tendency to emphasize the differences between and among different age groups has transitioned to collaborative ownership of the theme of the Third Episcopal District, “We Are Better Together!” With intention, our District plans and executes inclusive transformational program initiatives that offer information, education, and interest to all age groups.

Often young people (21 years of age and younger) and senior adults (60 years of age and older), experts conclude, are becoming increasingly separated.

Older adults are the fastest growing portion of the U.S. population, with over 31 million people in the target age groups often becoming isolated and insulated one from the other. There is measurable benefit in the interaction of the older adults giving guidance, insight, and a mature perspective to young people, as they benefit from the issues of concern and lessons learned from young people. Age segregation does not curate the benefit of sharing time, talent, and programming initiatives that would benefit both groups when they try to share information, seek understanding, and show appreciation for a different, if not shared, point of view.

“Intergenerational programming,” as defined by the National Council on the Aging, involves those “activities or programs that increase cooperation, interaction, or exchange between any two generations. It involves sharing skills, knowledge, or experience between old and young.” Identified benefits of intergenerational initiatives embody educational objectives, arts and recreation interests, desired states of health and welfare, and religious and spiritual well-being.

The intergenerational initiatives of the stakeholders in the Third District build and sustain the belief that we can. They must support each other and benefit from the ideation and program planning of others—young and seasoned. Our members daily manifest their commitment, awareness, and willingness.

The interaction of different age groups assists in giving realtime shared experiences across diverse topics, including but not limited to excellence without excuses to aging gracefully.

The younger generation was /is very familiar with technology and quickly lessened the stress levels of older adults by helping them to navigate virtual platforms, to select one device vs. open and active calls on multiple devices while on a single call, affixing a virtual background to their virtual screen, and mastering both the use of the “mute, speaker, and gallery button(s)” and sharing comments in the chat room.

The vision for this Inaugural Intergenerational Leadership Retreat, hosted by the Third District Young Peoples Division, would not have become a reality without the significant success of title-level partners who understood the value add of enhancing the personal and professional toolkits of all program participants. In addition, numerous donors from the public and private sectors also donated a plethora of premium gifts for recipient winners of diverse competitive moments throughout this program initiative. Collectively, we greatly benefitted from their generosity, support, and affirmation of this transformational programming initiative.

“The Podcasts and Leadership Retreat have been very informative, which proves that even old timers like me can learn something new, Keep up the good work. I have enjoyed all the sessions.”

—Freda Stargell, Grace AME Church-Warren, Ohio “I was thoroughly blessed by the Virtual Leadership Retreat and the Podcast Series. As the saying goes, ‘you are never too old to learn something new.’ I found the mix of participants amazing. I was so encouraged by the young adult participants. They gave me renewed hope and confidence that they will and can succeed. The candor and openness with which they spoke and the enthusiasm they showed when talking about their respective topics were refreshing and very informative. Job well done.”

—Verna Gaskins, Greater Allen AME Church-Dayton, Ohio The eager, energetic, and enthusiastic, young and seasoned, virtually joined with curious, quizzical, and some who were hesitant naysayers to view the inaugural launch of the Intergenerational Leadership Retreat, “Navigators, Not Passengers!” Saturday, January 8, 2022. The presenters were prepared, relevant, and compelling as they imparted their pearls of wisdom on how one curates professional and personal success by their willingness to take charge of being in charge of their destiny.

Presenters emphasized the urgency of NOW. They welcomed all participants to become actively engaged in their preparation for solid decision-making, problem-solving, and developing a tool kit that would be life-sustaining as they seek the fulfillment of their dreams and aspirations.

Participants were urged to discover the difference between transactional and transformational programming. Although there is value in both program styles, transformational programming introduces change, new ways of doing things, and paradigm shifts. The “programming stretch” introduces new program participants, thought leadership, and program activation.

Attendees learned the value add of cultivating like-minded collaborative partnerships to support their program interests and efforts. In sum, relationships matter, and there are community resources that can and will review and support proposals for programming initiatives that meet people at their point of need.

“ACCOLADES…supportive team for your effectual planning.” Expressions of thanks for your choice of highly skilled presenters. Their wealth of knowledge was readily received by an intergenerational audience. I, too, (was) academically blessed. Young people…empowered as a generation of “new navigators!”

— Adrienne A. Morris, 6th Connectional YPD/WMS-AME Church PODCAST ONE: MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT MARCH 12, 2022 Adults and children face managing stress, worry, and boundary-less anxiety daily. In addition, adults are seeking worklife balance, managing themselves, families, work, community engagement, relationships, and multiple roles and responsibilities.

While youth are often faced with bullying, peer pressure, and academic issues, without appropriate support, stressed-out individuals may be at a higher risk for mental health problems, academic problems, and health issues. The manifesting signs of stress include but are not limited to headaches, sleeping too much or too little, challenges at home, work, or school as the person becomes consistently more irritable or socially withdrawn, negative behavior, mental distraction causing lack of focus and task completion.

Expert panelists helped participants in their need to be positive, to provide a toolkit of what works and what does not, and to actively discuss the impact of peers and social media regarding attitude, behavior, image, fads, trends, and projected priorities. Panelists were affirming, informed, and positive in their presentations and highly resourceful as they discussed the metrics of healthy ...continued on p32

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living. Significantly, panelists advised participants that they were not alone. The presenters shared apps we could use, such as Calm, Headspace, and Moodpath. In addition, we received information about the Suicide Prevention Hotline.

...From 3rd Episcopal p31

America is increasingly rightly concerned with the prevailing issues of suicide.

Unfortunately, many have opted to cop-out when coping is the requirement.

Stress, mood disorder, and depression continue to push people to end life itself. Bullying, self-harm, negative thinking, and thinking that there is no way up and out require collective action.

This program effort was intentional, informative, and, by design, chock-filled with tools that participants can use for holistic health and wellness as they Iive, lead, and learn.

PODCAST TWO: CAREER PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS: EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE APRIL 23, 2022 “I especially enjoyed the last series as it pertained to establishing credit. I was happy to share with my college housemates our series as they tuned in and found… financial fitness extremely important as college students. It is my hope that I will (expand) on this topic and find a way to break generational financial curses for our young people.”

— Rudolph V. Collins IV, Community AMEC–Cleveland North Ohio Conference, YPD President “The podcast series that the Third District YPD put on was very informative. Hearing the information that Ms. Taylor Timmons gave regarding entering the field of law would have given me that added push to actually pursue the field!”

— Dara Daniel, Grace AMEC, North Ohio Conference YPD, Graduating Senior -Youngstown State University

Both the young and seasoned experienced the same global pandemic. Yet, the need to continue educational pursuits remained. Thus, active career-field presenters, some of whom were former YPD members, all under the age of 35, were identified for program participation. They shared their career choices, challenges, and career navigation to achieve their goals, timetable, and objectives. Interestingly, the presenters stressed the importance of knowing that everything is not academic-knowledge, skills, communication - speaking and writing, active listening, performing basic math proficiencies, critical thinking, and problem-solving as soft skill readiness, knowing what to say and do, when and why are also critical component(s) of career preparedness and readiness. Students seek not only college admission and matriculation but graduation. Indeed, the assignment is to gain competencies that will assist them in their survival on the global stage.

PODCAST THREE: FISCAL FITNESS: THE BOTTOM-LINE MONEY MANAGEMENT MAY 14, 2022 “To be honest, I didn’t think that the District YPD had anything to give that I would be interested in...I was wrong! I was really impressed with the presenters and subjects…I want to major in finance going to college…hearing the young people who (have) held offices in the YPD and moved on to be successful…makes me want to keep doing what I’m doing for church.”

— Nathan A. Collins, Community AMEC -Cleveland North Ohio Conference “(My daughter)… is interested in investing. Every subject has been so needed and relevant. I’m excited for the YPD and looking forward to what’s next.”

— The Rev. Emma Barnes, Pastor, Allen Chapel AME Church Cincinnati, Ohio Comments that let you know you understand and seek to ensure personal fiscal management is comfort, assurance, and ease. In other words, you are taking care of your business, budget, credit, savings, and investments. Simply stated, the goal is to have a viable plan and a dedicated willingness to work your plan - to keep your affairs in order through good decision-making. As a result, one’s money can work for them without having a dependence upon loans, credit card debt, or being inundated by the anxiety of having a need to manage debt. Participants were urged to consider their financial blueprint by setting, as a priority, their financial goals – debt payoff, emergency savings, short-term savings, and retirement savings.

Participants became aware of the value of organizing their finances, prioritizing spending, and managing debt. The rewards, including having an emergency fund, a nest egg for “your tomorrows,” or creating financial options for yourself, will be measurable in the benefits realized by setting and

adhering to financial goals and timetables. “People would be well-advised to pay heed to Warren Buffett’s sage words: ‘Do not save what is left after spending; instead, spend what is left after saving.’”

Presenters paid real-time attention to the convenience, accessibility, assets, and pitfalls of credit card use. Credit cards can assist the owner in managing their purchases, booking travel, online shopping, and the convenience of not having to carry large cash amounts. However, this often attractive green light to pay with a credit card and not cash can ultimately hold the owner hostage in interest payments and major debt. If there is no intentional effort to pay the credit card balance every month, trouble looms. Guardrails are necessary.

“We learned the importance of developing our direction and living a life serving others. It is important that we take care of our mental and physical well-being. We can’t serve others if we are unhealthy.… Youth and Adults learned about various career pathways they may not have considered otherwise. The presenters shared the importance of internships, getting involved with organizations, networking, and creating a profile on LinkedIn.” — Sheila Floyd, Third Episcopal District, YPD Director “On January 8, 2022, the Third Episcopal District YPD boarded a train…. pathways of excellence and success. The first stop was leadership empowerment. On that stop, we learned that we were navigators, not passengers. We took a stop to learn about our health, both mentally and physically. We took another stop to explore different career paths.

On our last stop, we learned how we can be fiscally fit. We aimed to educate, expose, and elevate …Now, the train has come back to the terminal (to) continue to climb the ladder to success.”

— Andrew Coleman III, Third Episcopal District, YPD President

Supportive partners, dedicated work, and technology afforded intergenerational stakeholders the opportunity to participate in a virtual training experience that offered tips, techniques, and strategies for lifelong personal and professional development enrichment. The global health pandemic was not a deterrent.

Instead, it was possibly the driver that encouraged all participants to familiarize themselves and to employ the apparent password -“pivot”; to cling to their faith; and, to demonstrate their “anyhow” spirit of resilience to frame the resulting success. Together, we listened, learned, and responded as intrigued, interested, and appreciative beneficiaries of this essential and rich training opportunity for our common good. Indeed, “We Are Better Together!” ❏ ❏ ❏

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Operations manager, “because tithing and giving to the church is not what it used to be. So you have to think outside the box.” ...From Dedication p20

Before heading to Richmond, the group took a quick walk through the building to view the beautiful back garden with lemon trees in large planters and strawberry plants bearing fruit lining the walkway.

At Anvil House, more guests gathered from local AME churches and outside organizations to hear about the opportunities for residents. The property, which will accommodate up to 20 men, consists of a five bedroom, three bath main house and a smaller two bedroom, with one auxiliary bath house.

Steady-Taylor affirmed, “There will be training, including computer training offered.” In addition, residents will participate in training in “how to interview for a job, how to complete an application, counseling, and other supportive programs to help [residents] reenter society.”

Bishop Fugh thanked the volunteers during the dedication ceremony for their due diligence. “We got the chance to preview this setting yesterday, and we saw the persons who were really behind the scenes preparing for today. We salute each one of you for the job that you did,” said the presiding prelate.

Front and center in the ceremony were a hammer and anvil, the namesake of both properties. “Our founder, Richard Allen, who, prior to starting our church, started the Free African Society in a blacksmith’s shop [as] a self-help organization that helped African Americans in a particular time in our society,” says Pastor Shaw.

“The first pulpit was an anvil. An iron block on which metal is placed to be shaped and forged. The anvil took what was not and brought it into existence.”

James Hooker, a trustee at Bethel San Francisco during a presentation, became very emotional. “It’s only by the grace of our Father that we have an opportunity to take and do his will,” says Hooker through tears. “We’re here, step by step, to return them to our community… under civil and godly responsibility. Let us move forward to the task at hand. And let this be just the first step in carrying out God’s will.”

Following the blessing and dedication of Anvil Arms and Anvil House, those attending were asked to take the hammer and hit the anvil as a sign of their commitment to “Build Back Better”—the slogan for Anvil House and what the house represents.

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California’s recidivism rate has averaged around 50% over the past ten years. Recidivism negatively impacts the community with victimization, the offender’s lives, and their families. Anvil House wants to make a difference. “We look at the crime rate now; we look at the homicides; we look at all the things that are going on with our ...continued on p38

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19th District Mid-Year Conference – Bishop Brailsford at Work The arrival of Bishop Ronnie Elijah Brailsford, Sr. to the 19th Episcopal District on 11 April 2022 was not to be a time of holiday. He wasted no time arriving for work at the District Head Office at 20 Phillips Street in Johannesburg. He met in person various auxiliary and component leaders, and he visited various properties of the church, including our educational institutions, the R.R. Wright Theological Seminary (R.R. Wright), and Wilberforce Community College (W.C.C.). On Saturday, 23 April 2022, members of the District travelled back home after closing a successful MidYear Conference prepared for 600 attendees.

This Mid-Year Conference was the first in-person meeting of the District since the 2019 series of annual conferences and planning meeting in December 2019. It took close to two and a half years for members of the 19th to be in fellowship once again to do God’s business under the leadership of Bishop Brailsford, Sr.

Thursday, 21 April, from around 2 p.m., many people were begging to arrive at the Quest Conference Estate in Vanderbijlpark, being met by officials checking temperature, sanitising hands, ensuring masks are on, and completing the registration. The registration desk was ready with personalised registration tags. The reception hall was alive with people standing in small groups, chatting, greeting each other with excitement, yet reminiscing about many who were not there because they had since passed on. Clearly, the three days were not enough to cover how people missed each other’s fellowship and worship. ...continued on p38

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As dusk set in, a reminiscent sound of the bishop, presiding elders, and retirees’ processional rang out. The opening marked the beginning of the three days planned to end on Saturday, 23 April. The opening and retirement service led by presiding elders ended with the handing over of plaques to eight retirees, namely, the Revs. G.M. Ramatong, P.J. Mengoai, S.S. Maboe, A.M. Sebelebele, E.B. Chweneemang, B. Chinula, M. Kgosana, and M.P. Seloane. To God be the glory.

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The Ordination Worship Experience commenced in the early evening with the various Boards of Examiners’ deans leading the procession of 35 candidates (deacons and elders elect) and two deaconesses. This total comes from the 2020 and 2021 annual conferences, which were only able to elect these candidates and pass them on to the following year’s classes without ordination due to the restricted travels because of COVID, thus preventing the bishop from being in the country.

The 19th District was blessed with the preaching

by Bishop Harry Lee Seawright, who preached

virtually reading from the Gospel of Matthew 16:13-20, 24–26 on the subject, “The cost of being chosen.” This ordination was evocative of the last Thursday in March 1949 ordination of more than 120 candidates by Bishop Isaiah Hamilton Bonner at Bethel AME Church, Cape Town. This massive ordination was a result of the World War that prevented the travel of bishops to South Africa for over ten years. The late Rev. Scott had told the story that as Bishop I.H. Bonner docked off, men and women from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Nyasaland (now Malawi), Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), all came to Cape Town to meet the bishop and Supervisor N.J. Bonner singing the Sotho hymn, “Se teng Seliba sa mali aletareng ya tefelo” ending on the Sunday with more than 120 men ordained. Bishop Brailsford enters the annals of the 19th Episcopal District as the first to ordain such a huge cohort in one sitting and the second highest since Bishop Bonner 73 years ago. The bishop took his time, ensuring that each candidate received their ordination in the most dignified way without compromising COVID protocols.

This ordination worship experience included the consecration of two deaconesses and two persons for local orders (one deacon and one elder). The majestic picture of a u-shaped makeshift altar rail spanning over 30 metres to accommodate the kneeling of at least 20 candidates at a time was a picture etched indelibly in many people’s minds;

young men—not just black men, but all young men,” says Pastor Woodson. “I think it’s very important to have a place that can possibly turn that around in their lives. [This ministry is] not only important to the young men themselves, but it’s also important to the community to know that this could possibly make our communities safer.”

Continuing with this same sentiment, Pastor Shaw said, “As men [are] present, they’re role models for other young men in the community. More men present, doing positive for the society can veer

others away who might try to do ill will in society.

And some people are just doing what they know to survive, so we’d like to show another way to be successful.”

The day ended with lunch at Oakland Restaurant Tribune, located in the iconic Tribune Building.

Thoughts of the day lingered with gratitude to God and what Anvil House means to the community.

“What a remarkable contribution to be able to invest in our black men,” says the Rev. Ann Shaw, “[knowing] that second chances can really happen.

...From 19th p34

Bishop Brailsford, Sr., made it clear that no day should commence without meditation, so the elders elect were set aside to lead all morning devotions. Each day started promptly at 9 a.m. and went immediately into the business sessions. Respective leaders shared reports and presentations from various components.

...From Dedication p33

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this was indeed the most distinctive memorable ordinations we have experienced.

One of the highlights of the Mid-year Conference was the spirit of generosity of the people of the 19th in support of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Disaster Relief. Members stood one after another at the call for monetary pledges and other necessities to pledge financial support. Officials will transport most of the clothes and blankets to KZN before the end of April 2022.

Leaders gave updates on the educational institutions, R.R. Wright and W.C.C. There is indeed conspicuous progress each time the various boards report. These reports were followed by a moment of teaching and empowerment by the Rev. L.S. Moobi, PE, the Rev. N.N.A. Matyumza, PE, and the Rev. T.G. Klaas.

The three-day event was closed on Saturday evening with Bishop Ronnie Elijah Brailsford, Sr. preaching on the subject, “Where do we go from here?” based on Acts 1:4-8 and handing out ordination, consecration, pastoral transfers, and appointment certificates.

The logistics teamwork was on top of things, albeit marred by the intermittent loss of power.

To God be the glory. ❏ ❏ ❏

[It is remarkable] “for us to be able to provide that second chance, for God to give us those resources to give a second chance to another brother, [letting] them know that we’re here to help him get back on the right footing and that he can still be all he wants to be in God.” Pastor Woodson is looking forward to the first residents of Anvil House. “We’re hoping for no failures; we’re looking for success for all who enter Anvil House,” says Pastor Woodson. ❏ ❏ ❏

18th Episcopal District African Methodist Episcopal Church Mid-Year Conference 2022 Rev. Solomon Nxumalo (Retired Presiding Elder) – 18th District Reporter

The 18 Episcopal District Mid-year Conference held on 30 April 2022 was a groundbreaking new model for efficiency in ministry. Using the technology developed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the District was able to gather for a one-day meeting held across borders in virtual hubs in Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, and S. Mozambique. The conference was well organized, with all reports submitted in advance and printed in the 18th District Midyear Guide. Within six hours (which included a 1-hour lunch break), we received clear teaching, exciting auxiliary reports, and powerful preaching by Bishop Frederick Wright, Sr., the presiding prelate of the 20th Episcopal District. All messaging throughout the Conference lifted our theme: God our Healer: Healthy Church-Healthy Community [Jeremiah 33:6, St. Luke 8:42-48]. th

Bishop Brookins and Supervisor Burnett introduced a small grant opportunity during the planning meeting for Farm and Garden ministries. During the Midyear Meeting, the Rev. Carolyn Cavaness, the Farm & Garden coordinator for the International Health Commission, outlined the vision, goals, and steps for developing sustainable food security networks. Thereafter, First Lady Tsakasile Ndlangamandla, the first grant recipient, gave a tutorial on how she developed their proposal for the new mushroom shed at Paul Quinn Chapel at the Eswatini Annual Conference. We celebrated the progress they had made. This session ended with Bishop Brookins leading us in a prayer and consecration litany for all the new District farm and garden projects.

During our second healing and empowerment session, the Rev. Dr. Ammie Davis, president/dean of Turner Theological Seminary, introduced the new Certificate of Theology program at Turner and the scholarship for 18 students from the 18th District to participate. Bishop Brookins emphasized that while ordination is important, additional education and training to go with the ordination will be a blessing for those who participate.

The third session was a town hall conversation where Bishop Wright provided updates on District projects, problems, and possibilities.

Having received all reports in writing, the District discussed the decision-making process on recommendations from each report.

Bishop Brookins introduced two

new ministries: the Sons of Allen (SOA) and the Criminal Justice Initiative of the Council of Bishops.

We celebrated that in such a short time, Bro. Edwin Lehasa, the new District SOA president, had been able to mobilize the District, and each Annual Conference now has a representative to begin the work.

Each component uniformly presented reports in five minutes or less, and we ended the meeting with the Word powerfully preached from John 5:1-10 entitled “The Paralysis of the Church.” Bishop Wright exhorted each of us to take up our mats and allow God to do a new thing with each and all of us. Under Bishop Brookins’s leadership and Supervisor Burnett’s leadership, the 18th Episcopal District is truly doing a new thing! ❏ ❏ ❏

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CONGRATULATORY Announcements *Purple font connotes Episcopal Family; Red font, General Officers; and Blue font, Connectional Officers.

Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram and the Rev. Dr. Jessica K. Ingram Celebrated Their 45th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday, June 11, 2022 (Memories shared by the Rev. Dr. Jessica K. Ingram) June 11, we will celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares, we have already come. In these 45 years, we have experienced joys and sorrows, health and sickness, life and death, successes and failures, loyalty and betrayal, good moments and not-so-good ones, conversations where we connected and those where we disagreed, consideration given to leaving each other and then deciding to stay together, loving ministry but also being miserable in ministry, looking forward to retirement now trying to make so many adjustments, figuring out how to parent our only daughter and now trying to make up time to her for the years we spent away from her while we were engaged in the work of the church, loving being grandparents, and so much more.

Yes, these 45 years have been some kind of journey.

Little did we know on June 11, 1977, when we joined in marriage, what was in our future. When I repeated the words saying I would be with my husband in sickness and in health, I didn’t know it meant I would have to be with him through a life-threatening accident and numerous surgeries that almost took his life.

When I pledged to be with him, I did not know that it would mean serving four local churches in four different cities. I certainly didn’t know he would be elected a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and that we would serve in South Africa, Texas, and the East Coast. In all, we have moved 19 times!

I did not know about the disappointments, the hurts, and the betrayals that came with ministry and marriage. But I can tell you this; I would not take anything for our 45 years of marriage together. I am sure he feels the same way!

William (Billy) Davis, Howard University Law Graduate, Has Been Named One of the First Entertainment Law and Policy Fellows with the Motion Picture Association The Third Street Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, first family, the Rev. Reuben J. Boyd, Jr., and first lady, Sis. Sonja D. Boyd, president of the Virginia Conference Ministers’ Spouses, Widows and Widowers Organization Plus PKs (M-SWAWO Plus PKs), is proud to announce that their Richard Allen Young Adult Council (RAYAC) member and former area and local Young People’s Division member, YPDer William (Billy) Davis, has

been named one of the first entertainment law and policy fellows with the Motion Picture Association.

This program is in partnership with our historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

William A. Davis, 2021 Howard law graduate, has been announced as part of the inaugural class of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program (EICOP) Entertainment Law & Policy Fellowship program.

This unique and prestigious one-year fellowship targets high-performing recent college, university, and law student graduates from historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The fellowship expands the pipeline and grows opportunities for graduates from diverse backgrounds to enter the entertainment industry.

“Howard University School of Law played a pivotal role in developing my interest in entertainment law.

The various organizations that I was exposed to at HUSL helped me to understand the possibilities that were available in this field. Before coming to Howard, I knew that I wanted to work in entertainment law, but Howard helped me hone in on intellectual property, and for that, I am extremely grateful,” said Davis. “I am elated to be the inaugural EICOP-MPA Entertainment Law fellow. Being graced with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet key players in the entertainment industry has been extremely fulfilling. I look forward to what the program has to offer for the duration of my time in this role.”

The MPA-EICOP Entertainment Law & Policy Fellowship is a ground-breaking one-year program.

Fellows will rotate from the MPA’s office in Los Angeles to its global headquarters in Washington, District of Columbia, and conclude the program at one of the association’s member studios: Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures, or Warner Bros. The fellowship eliminates barriers to entry into the entertainment industry by providing financial support, paid housing and travel, and a living expenses stipend. “We are the leading global advocate of the film, television, and streaming industry, representing some of the largest content creators in the world. This fellowship program reflects our commitment to expanding and diversifying the pipeline for talent not only in front of and behind the camera but also within our association,” said Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association. “William and Rhyan were selected based on their strong interest in pursuing policy and law in the entertainment industry, remarkable

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JUNE 2022 academic achievements and recommendations, as well as extensive community service and dynamic leadership. The MPA and our member studios are thrilled to have them both join us as our inaugural MPA-EICOP Entertainment Law & Policy fellows.”

“No matter what you study in school or what your background is, there are opportunities and a place for you in the entertainment industry,” said Stacy Milner, president and CEO of the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program. “These incredible fellows prove that, and we can’t wait to see the impact they make on the industry as a part of this unique program.”

During the program, fellows will gain experience alongside some of the industry’s leading senior-level legal and government affairs executives. In addition to the program’s in-depth, hands-on exposure to various entertainment law and policy sectors, fellows will go on-site to studio lots and visit top entertainment law firms. They will also interact with other industry professionals and peers at networking and industryrelated functions to round out their experience.

Fellows were vetted through a comprehensive, highly competitive process. The selection committee responsible for assessing and reviewing applicants represents executives and leaders from the following organizations: Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA), Japanese American Citizens League, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National Urban League, Native American Media Alliance, United States House of Representatives Office on Diversity and Inclusion, White House Initiative on Advancing Education Equity for Hispanics, and White House Initiative on HBCUs. FULL ARTICLE: https://thedig.howard.edu/allstories/howard-law-grad-named-inaugural-motionpicture-association-entertainment-law-and-policy-fellow Congratulations to 2nd Lt Sir Wellington Hartford Brookins on Being Accepted Into the Master’s Program in Space Studies at the American Military University Sir Wellington Hartford Brookins, 2nd Lt. in U.S. Space Force and son of the late Bishop H. Hartford Brookins, the ninety-first elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Dr. Rosalynn Kyle Brookins, has been accepted into the American Military University Master’s Program in Space Studies for summer classes beginning July 8, 2022. “To God be the glory!”

Email congratulatory expressions revrosalynnbrookins@gmail.com.

to:

On behalf of Publications Commission chair Bishop David Rwhynica Daniels, Jr., president/publisher of the AMEC Publishing House (Sunday School Union) the Rev. Dr. Roderick D. Belin, and editor of The Christian Recorder Mr. John Thomas III, we celebrate and applaud your achievements.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) To share or receive information about Connectional clergy family bereavements and congratulations, please contact the AME Church Clergy Family Information Center. Mrs. Ora L. Easley, administrator • 5981 Hitching Post Lane • Nashville, TN 37211 • 615.833.6936 (CFIC Office) • amecfic. org • facebook.com/AMECFIC ❏ ❏ ❏

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NECROLOGY Listings

JUNE 2022

*Purple font connotes Episcopal Family; Red font, General Officers; and Blue font, Connectional Officers.

Brother Parrish Transou, Sr., the husband of the late Reverend Sabrina Faye DeBerry Transou, pastor of New Greater Bethel AME Church, Jackson, Tennessee, to whom he was married for 48 years; a powerful and dynamic singer, Brother Transou, Sr. was a true partner in ministry and marriage

Corene Broomfield, and John Broomfield

Conference, the Episcopal District

Reverend Dr. Melvin I. Graham Sr., a superannuated itinerant elder of the Second Episcopal District, having pastored in the North Carolina Annual Conference and the Western North Carolina Annual Conference

Mr. Willie Lee McMillan, the beloved father of the Reverend Octavius L. Smith (Lady Keysha), senior pastor of Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Sanford, Florida, Daytona Beach District-Central Annual Conference, Eleventh Episcopal District

Presiding Elder Emeritus Ellis H. Casson, the patriarch of the Casson family, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather, uncle, greatuncle, son, brother, and friend; but above all, a man of God, a pastor and presiding elder serving in the AME Church for over 65 years known for his mentorship, civil rights activism, advocacy, and humor

Mr. Samuel A. Herring, the widower of the late Reverend Shelda Herring, who served as the pastor of Spring Chapel AME Church, Grand Junction, Tennessee, West Tennessee Conference, Thirteenth Episcopal District, where he served as a steward and trustee

Mr. Green Smith, the brother (brother-in-law) of the Reverend Roy and Sister Velma Smith, pastor and first lady of Ne Seminary and Beech Hill AME Church, Stephens, Arkansas, of the Arkansas Annual Conference, Twelfth Episcopal District Mrs. Betty Gene Martin, the mother of Mrs. Tonya Orr (the Reverend Johnny) of Greater St. Mark AME Church, Thornton, Arkansas, and St. James AME Church, Rison, Arkansas, of the Twelfth Episcopal District Mrs. Betty Creath, the eldest sister of Presiding Elder Tyrone A. Broomfield (the Reverend Ina K.) of the North Little Rock/Ft. Smith District, Twelfth Episcopal District, and sister of Barbara Lawson, Sandra Kelley,

The Reverend Robert Lee Bailey, retired pastor of Bethel AME Church, Robbins, Illinois, after many years of pastoral service to the Fourth Episcopal District Reverend Willie Lee “Tim” Timmons, 71, served as pastor for several years of the Evening Chapel AME Church, Grand Prairie, Texas, Greater Dallas District of the Tenth Episcopal District, until 2020, when he moved to Lithonia, Georgia Mrs. Doris Jean Cannon, 80, of Columbus, Georgia, the mother of the Reverend Pricilla Wilson, pastor of Pleasant Grove AME Church in the Phenix City District of the Northeast Alabama

Ninth

Reverend Millicent Jeanette Collins,an acclaimed choral director and vocalist, who utilized her noted talents, especially in Southern California, Fifth Episcopal District, and at the World Expo in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1986, and at the Sydney Opera House during the McDonald’s Music Festival in 1992 Mrs. Anna Mary Mouchette, the wife of Chaplain (COL) Edward D. Mouchette (retired); she was a lifelong educator, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and resident of Sun Lakes, Arizona, Office of Ecumenical and Urban Affairs Brother Robert Love, Jr., the beloved brother of the Reverend Debra Love, pastor of Palace AME Church, Havana, Florida, Eleventh Episcopal District Deacon Willie Joe Edwards, the brother of the Reverend Mary Reed, pastor of South Wesley AME Church, Houston, Texas, in the Texas Conference, Tenth Episcopal District

Reverend Roshelle McCrae, the pastor of Greater Mt. Zion AME Church in Waycross, Georgia, Sixth Episcopal District Mr. Adrian Vincent Cross, the older brother of Mrs. Sabrena M. Newsom, president of the Twelfth District M-SWAWO+PKs, and brotherin-law of the Reverend Kurbe L. Newsom, pastor of St. James AME Church, Warren, Arkansas; he is the son of Albert (deceased) and Claudia E. Cross of Memphis, Tennessee Brother Jessie Marshall, the father of Sister Gwendolyn Latham and father-In-law of the Reverend Ernest Latham, pastor of Campbell Chapel AME Church, Pulaski, Tennessee, and Round Hill AME Church, Lynnville, Tennessee, of the Thirteenth Episcopal District Mr. Gregory Thomas Miles, the brother of the Reverend Donnell Miles, pastor of Ebenezer AME Church, Stockton, California, and of Lady Florence Boyd, wife of the Reverend J. Edgar Boyd, pastor of First AME Church Los Angeles, California, Fifth Episcopal District Mrs. Ethel Mae TrentGardenhire, the mother of Mrs. Jamesina Evans, the seventh president of the Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

Condolences to the bereaved are expressed on behalf of Publications Commission chair Bishop David R. Daniels, Jr., president/publisher of the AMEC Publishing House (Sunday School Union) the Rev. Dr. Roderick D. Belin, and editor of The Christian Recorder, Mr. John Thomas III. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (NRSV) To share or receive information about Connectional clergy family bereavements and congratulations, please contact the AME Church Clergy Family Information Center. Mrs. Ora L. Easley, administrator • 5981 Hitching Post Lane • Nashville, TN 37211 • 615.833.6936 (CFIC Office) • amecfic. org •facebook.com/AMECFIC ❏ ❏ ❏

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Impacto de Vida AME Church: Building History Presiding Elder Abraham Rodriguez, 16th Episcopal District

Take a few minutes and join me in the next few lines. I want to share with you the story that God wrote for Impacto de Vida and the community that surrounds us. Impacto de Vida is an AME Church in La Romana, Dominican Republic where God has fixed his eyes and has allowed us to understand that pastoring an African Methodist Episcopal church is more than just organizing a local church, more than preparing a sermon every Sunday and even more than reporting to each annual conference. Pastoring is loving God and his people, it is calling, vocation, purpose, and an extraordinary vision of the future.

In 1989, I was ordained as a minister and I received the vision of expanding the Kingdom of God wherever I was sent and convinced that the best way is to build a story that strengthens faith and convinces everyone who knows this story of the power that the God whom I serve for more than 40 years has. So, since then I consider myself a bearer of purpose, change, vision, growth, and progress to wherever God places me, and despite constant opposition, we remain on the warpath and increasingly entrenched in the history that God wrote in the heart of this man.

In 1995, Mr. Victor Milton Peterson, an American, walked through the doors of our church, leaving in his wake the promise to build a temple to Jehovah, the largest in the entire city. It didn’t take long for the doubts to arrive, however, the yearning of my heart was becoming more and more latent. Never expect a large temple, but rather a platform that serves as an educational medium and a source of employment for the community and the church; our gaze has always been on the future of the church, children.

Even though this story began in the mind of God and our physical eyes can only see reality, God’s truth will always prevail. In 2002, our new building was inaugurated. In 2004, we started working on the education program, now known as ESCUELA HOGAR EMAUS. Since then, we are not only responsible for the education of these children, but our building has served as a home for the food supply of hundreds of families whose testimonies are impressive. Thanks to a support network that over time extends around the world, we have been able to continue operating despite the challenges, challenges and economic scarcity, which makes us praise God with more and more conviction because we know that the work carried out over the years has been due to his good, pleasant, and perfect will so

that we can move forward…Building a history!

A story that is a legacy for this community. A story that impacts more lives and extends to as many generations as possible. A story that tells the world about the true God. A story that educates, and promotes biblical values and principles, and that, in turn, is a story of growth and professional development for our community. It is the vision we have received; build the building that allows us to cover more families.

We have acquired the land with the fund created with effort, abstinence, and good administration and on May 14, 2022, we held the consecration

ceremony and began to build the first four classrooms to expand this vision because our community needs it and our children continue being our priority.

We believe that God will continue to provide the resources to support this project until it becomes the most significant legacy of the city of La Romana and the AME Church in the Dominican Republic.

Persons who are interested in learning more about the project can visit: educaemaus.com or email educaemaus04@gmail.com; IG @educaemaus / Facebook: Escuela Hogar Emaus. ❏ ❏ ❏

Transitions REV. COSMAS SITONGWA WAKUNGUMA (1956-2022) The Rev. Cosmas Sitongwa Wakunguma was born on 1 January 1956 in Nandiya Lumbe, Senanga. He did his primary education at Mulwani Primary School in Livingstone and later completed his secondary education at Linda Secondary School.

He later pursued his tertiary education and joined the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation in the Stores Department in Livingstone. He was later transferred to Kafue. In 1992 he joined National Heritage Conservation Commission at the HQ in Livingstone, where he rose through the ranks until his retirement as a procurement specialist and a member of the Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply. He was multi-skilled and an admirable administrator with extensive experience in store management, logistics, procurement systems, and insurance.

He spent most of his life serving the church as a senior steward, as they were known then in Livingstone at the then Dambwa African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He was very instrumental in the leadership of the church and served as a local president of the Lay Organisation. He worked very hard in the Livingstone District and supported several projects.

In 1998, the Rev. Cosmas Wakunguma was ordained as an itinerant deacon and later was elected and ordained as an itinerant elder under the leadership of Bishop T. Larry Kirkland. He diligently served as the pastor in charge of Mt. Olives, Beautiful Gates, and was later appointed as the presiding ...continued on p42

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...From Rev. Cosmas p41

elder of Livingstone District.

The Lord showed him favour, and he was later appointed as the bishop’s administrative assistant by Bishop Paul Kawimbe. He later went on to serve under the leadership of Bishop Wilfred J. Messiah and Bishop David R. Daniels, Jr. He also served as the president of the Presiding Elders Council of the 17th Episcopal District. He also represented the church in various meetings and engagements assigned to him by the presiding bishops.

The Rev. Cosmas Sitongwa Wakunguma was calm, jovial, generous, and a unifier in the family. Many of the family members gathered here, and those not here, including those called earlier by the Lord, will testify of the true

character of this gallant brother and his love for the family, people, and the church.

He was admitted to Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital on 11 March 2022 and succumbed to sepsis and diabetes on 9 May 2022.

The burial service was held at Ebenezer AME Church on 13 May 2022.

The Rev. Gondwe was the preacher of the hour. The presiding bishop gave a moving tribute in honour of his work and prayed for the family and the church to remain stronger in such a time.

He was laid to rest on 13 May 2022 at Leopards Hill Memorial Park. We shall surely miss you, my brother. May your soul rest in eternal peace. ❏ ❏ ❏

REV. DR. WALTER ROBERT JOHNSON

speaking. Her favorite subjects were English, chemistry, history, and home economics at North Surry High School. After receiving an academic and athletic scholarship, Bishop Hines attended Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, North Carolina, where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Home Economics Education. She received her Master of Arts in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She was awarded a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and certification in Clinical Pastoral Counseling from the Colgate Rochester School of Divinity in Rochester, New York. She was awarded a Doctor of Ministry from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”- Revelation 14:13 The Reverend Dr. Walter Robert Johnson III was born on September 12, 1930, to the union of Walter and Clotiel Frazier Johnson in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Rob, as he was affectionately known, served his country as a soldier in the United States Army. He fought in the Korean War with the 159th Field Artillery Battalion and the 92nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion.

He enlisted in the army as a private, advanced through the ranks, and was promoted to master sergeant at age 20. On his 21st birthday, he was promoted again and received a battlefield commission to lieutenant for outstanding leadership in combat. He was a graduate of the Field Artillery and Guided Missile School.

At a young age, he desired to serve God and God’s people. Dr. Johnson accepted his call to the gospel ministry and was ordained as a minister in the Lord’s church. He served the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church as pastor of numerous churches. He served as the general secretaryauditor of the AMEZ Church, a member of the Executive Committee, World Methodist Council, National Council of Churches, and the Pan Methodist Commission. In his retirement, he was recognized for fifty years of faithful and loyal service to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

He also served as a member of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces (NCMAF), Endorsers Conference for Veterans Affairs Chaplaincy (EVAC), Board of Trustees for Clinton Junior College (vice chair), General Commission on Christian Unity and Inter-Religious Concerns, United Methodist.

His parents, grandparents, one daughter, and two brothers preceded him in death.

He leaves to cherish his memories three children, Robert Walter (Chris) Johnson, Edward David (Dianna) Johnson, and Carol Miller (Anthony), all of California; step-children, Pamela McLaughlin, Sandra (Michael) Ingram, Nathan Williamson, Claudia (Chester) Mebane, all of North Carolina; five grandchildren; his siblings, Lois Thomas of Shreveport, LA, Samuel Frazier of Los Angeles, CA and Trudy (the Rev. Adell) of Carrollton, TX; a special niece, Tiffany Michelle Brown, a special cousin, Rosalind Blackshire; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. ❏ ❏ ❏ BISHOP MILDRED B. HINES (1955-2022) The Right Reverend Mildred “Bonnie” Hines is the first of five daughters: Renita, Marcia, Charlotte, and Maria (deceased)-- born to Roscoe and JoAnn Gwyn Hines of Mount Airy, North Carolina, a rural family town on May 6, 1955. The home of her grandparents, Jess and Melissa Gwyn, was one of the three gathering sites for members of the community; the other two were the church and the school.

Bishop Hines received her education in public schools in Surry County, North Carolina. She credits Miss Virginia Galloway, her first-grade teacher, for instilling a thirst for learning and a passion for

Bishop Hines pastored First African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church in Los Angeles, California, prior to her election to the episcopacy.

Previous assignments and involvement included: pastor, Walls Memorial AME Zion Church, Charlotte, North Carolina; pastor, Waddell Chapel AME Zion Church, Shelby, North Carolina; Charlotte Mecklenburg City Planning Commission; Charlotte Mecklenburg NAACP life member; Charlotte Mecklenburg Speaker’s Bureau, Gaston City Planning Commission; Charlotte Mecklenburg Urban League; Charlotte Mecklenburg Political Black Caucus; Charlotte Medical Center chaplain; Presbyterian Hospital chaplain Pastor, Saint Peter’s Tabernacle AME Zion Church, Gastonia, North Carolina; Gaston County NAACP Life Member; Gaston County Ministerial Alliance; Gaston Memorial Hospital chaplain; Highland Community Improvement Association; Cleveland County Hospice chaplain; Cleveland Memorial Hospital Chaplain Mayor’s Crime Task Force; Cleveland County CDC Board Member; YMCA Board Member; and Cleveland County Ministerial Alliance.

She also served as an office assistant and ghostwriter for the Department of Church School Literature for the AME Zion Church. Her lay profession was as a senior buyer for Belk Department Stores. Bishop Hines was elected in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 18, 2008, at the 48th General Conference of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church as the 98th bishop in the line of succession of The AME Zion Church. She is the first and only female to be elected to the episcopacy of the denomination. On February 20, 2013, she became the first female to head the AME Zion Church when she was elected president of the Board of Bishops. Bishop Hines is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA). She is a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a legacy life member of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), and a member of the Los Angeles unit of Church Women United. Before her elevation to the episcopacy, Bishop Hines served as a member of the President’s Advisory Board for the University of South California (USC). She was a faculty member for USC’s School of Religion’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture. She taught leadership development classes to empower clergy and lay leaders, assisting them in expanding their vision for community development and social engagement projects. She sat on several boards, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Los Angeles Council of Churches, and the Traditionally Black Methodist Churches of Los Angeles, to name a few.

Bishop Hines’ first assignment was to the Western West Africa Episcopal District, which included over 450 churches in Ghana, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo. In 2012, Bishop Hines was assigned supervision of the Southwestern Delta Episcopal District, which included churches in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Texas, and West Tennessee. After the sudden death of Bishop Roy Holmes in May of 2013, the New England and the Bahamas Islands Conferences of the North Eastern Episcopal District were added to her supervision. At the time of her death, she was assigned to the South Atlantic Episcopal District, which comprises South Carolina and Georgia.

Bishop Hines died on May 25, 2022.❏ ❏ ❏

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EDITORIAL

The Black Mundane: Race & the Buffalo Massacre D’Weston Haywood, Columnist

There is a rampant and severe misconception afoot. The American popular imagination wrongly interprets black people’s long and recent histories of protest to mean that black people are fixated on race and racial politics. Many believe that black people stand ever ready to invoke race, to force opportunities to “play” it as a “card” any and everywhere to ensnare the public and American democracy in its web of thorny issues. But contrary to popular opinion, black people are not preoccupied with race. In fact, this stubborn misconception deliberately ignores how black people have historically and presently endeavored to avoid race, to circumvent it in hopes that they may simply have a day to go about the business of minding their own business. What I would like to call the “Black Mundane” signifies black people’s efforts to do the quotidian,

to merely mind their business, as it were, and complete everyday tasks that should have little to no widespread social impact. This idea is so basic and trite that it should go without naming—until what should have been an otherwise uneventful day at a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on May 14, 2022, exploded into the country’s latest episode of anti-black violence.

Juxtaposed against histories of black protest or movements like “Black Power,” the Black Mundane seems utterly ordinary, boring even, though this is the very point. W. E. B. DuBois, the Harvard-trained scholar, and civil rights activist, spoke to this as far back as his 1903 classic, The Souls of Black Folk.

Writing amid the proliferation of lynching and the rapid erosion of black people’s citizenship rights, he observed that so much of African

American life and struggle centered on the quest to simply be both black and American “without being cursed and spit upon.” Put another way, there remains a long historical effort to be one’s (black) self and enjoy a moment, a day, a time, and a space without race—without microaggressions, at the least, or most, without attack.

And this is why this rather mundane thing is so extraordinary. The Black Mundane represents black people’s fight not to fight, resisting having to resist in the first place by simply– say, grocery shopping, walking home from the store (Trayvon Martin, 2012), having Bible study (Mother Emanuel AME Church, 2015), relaxing at home (Botham Jean, 2018), or jogging (Ahmaud Arbery, 2020). Yet, in an act of white supremacist domestic terrorism, an 18-year-old man, preoccupied with

D’Weston Haywood Guest Editorial

race, drove 200 miles to massacre 10 black people and wound three others. The killer now faces federal hate crime charges. Black protests have emerged in Buffalo and elsewhere, and rightly so, including efforts from the family members of the victims, who have testified before Congress to condemn racism, America’s trenchant gun problem, and the relationship between the two.

Pulled into protest and leadership, these efforts involve black people, who may have otherwise simply gone about the business of minding their own business. ❏ ❏ ❏

Rev. Lucinda V. Burgess – Presiding Elder Appointment to European Annual Conference In April 2022, during the 60th Session of the European Annual Conference, Bishop Marvin C. Zanders II appointed the Rev. Lucinda Burgess as the presiding elder of the European Conference, overseeing churches in England, France, and the Netherlands. The Rev. Burgess is the first female itinerant elder and the second Bermudian to hold this position.

The Rev. Burgess has served as an associate minister at Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church—Long Green, Maryland, Bright Temple AME Church— Warwick, Bermuda, and Greater Allen AME Church—Dayton, Ohio. In addition, in 2017, the late

Bishop McKinley Young appointed the Rev. Burgess to serve at Ross Chapel AME Church—Jamestown, Ohio, and in 2019 Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield appointed her to serve at Richard Allen AME Church—London, England.

In 2002, The Rev. Burgess preached her trial sermon at Mt. Zion AME Church—Long Green Maryland, under the pastorate of the Rev. Dr. Joan L. Wharton (her mother-in-ministry). In March 2006, she was ordained an Itinerant Deacon at the Baltimore Annual Conference. In 2013, she continued her education at Payne Theological Seminary, Wilberforce, Ohio, graduating cum laude in May 2017 with a Master of Divinity. On October 14, time for the church to clear its vision, re-align its priorities, revive its heart, and remold its attitude. It is time for us to once again submit to God’s authority with unyielding faith. It is time that we “lean not to our own understanding” and trust in God’s Word. It is time we come to grips with the fact that alone we have no strength

...From The Truth p21

2017, the Rev. Burgess was ordained an itinerant elder at the Ohio South Ohio Annual Conference.

The Rev. Lucinda V. Burgess was born and reared in Sandys Parish, Bermuda, where she attended Mt. Zion AME Church, Southampton. She graduated from Warwick Secondary School in Bermuda’s public school system. She continued her education at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in History with a certificate in education. The Rev. Burgess taught in the public school systems of Bermuda and Baltimore, Maryland.

The Rev. Burgess is the daughter of Mr. Ewart and Mrs. Joan Joell of Bermuda.

She is the proud mother of two adult sons and the grandmother of four. ❏ ❏ ❏

to deal with evil. Instead, we must believe in God’s power and surrender to God’s will.

We are challenged in these critical times to take a stand for the Lord. We must summon the courage of Peter and John to face our adversaries, the wisdom of the Son of God to face our trials, and the assurance of the Word of God to overcome

our temptations. Beloved, we need the help of the Spirit of God to restore our power. “Oh come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” (Psalm 95:6-7) and “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him” (Job 13:15).

The Reverend Dr. Charles R. Watkins, Jr., is the pastor of James Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.